


Assault

by Littleredridinghunter



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Accidental Knotting, Alpha Derek, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Awesome Sheriff Stilinski, BAMF Stiles, Dark, Hurt Derek, Hurt Stiles, Jealous Derek, Kidnapped Stiles, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Oblivious Derek, Oblivious Stiles, Pining Derek, Protective Derek, Scarred Stiles, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Scott is a Bad Friend, Sexual Assault, Sheriff Stilinski Feels, Sheriff Stilinski Finds Out, Sheriff Stilinski Finds Out About Werewolves, Sheriff Stilinski is a Good Parent, Stiles-centric, Tattooed Stiles Stilinski, although the pack don't know that, and its not really a kidnap, at least for a little while, but he makes it up to him, but its brief, but they find out eventually, derek thinks stiles doesn't want to be pack, really Scott is just an idiot, sterek, stiles thinks he's kicked out of the pack, there's a lot the pack doesn't know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-26 10:52:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 71,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13234146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littleredridinghunter/pseuds/Littleredridinghunter
Summary: Stiles is tortured by Gerard at the end of season 2, he doesn't realise that the events of that night will start a chain of events that will push him to his limits.With mysterious deaths plaguing the town, his dad barely speaking to him and Stiles reeling from Scott's betrayal, is he strong enough to make it through the events that will change him forever? Will the pack be there to catch him when he starts to fall? Or will he be alone and in more danger than he thought ever possible?The summary sucks because I can't write summaries, but hopefully you'll be willing to give it a read!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Stiles is sexually assaulted and nearly raped. He recovers but it's a long process so don't read if you don't want to read about it.
> 
> There's also threats of rape from the same character that assaulted Stiles. 
> 
> There's mentions of torture with Gerard but nothing specific. There's also a lot of hurt Stiles because what would my stories be without giving Stiles a beating several hundred times!?
> 
> I'm thinking about writing a second piece, but I'd write it as Stiles' book, like, each dimension would have it's own chapter, I don't know if I'm going to get around to it because there's a couple of other fics I want to write first, but, I'd be interested to know if it's something you guys would like to read?
> 
> So I'm making a point here...I write these fics for my own enjoyment, I enjoy them, I post them here for me. If others enjoy them great, if you don't, also completely fine, that's your opinion.
> 
> If you are going to offer constructive critiscm over how I can improve my writing I will gladly listen to it, I want to improve so any advice is gratefully received. 
> 
> If you are going to say how crap this fic is or whatever else but not offer any way to improve, with all honesty, you can kindly go fuck yourselves. If you can write better fics go ahead and do it, if I read it and enjoy it I'll be sure to comment and tell you how good it is or where I think you can improve.
> 
> Any comments that are left with the intention of just slagging this fic (or any others I have written or intend to write in the future) will be immediately deleted and ignored. I don't tolerate bullying or intimidation of any kind and nobody is forcing you to read any of my fics, if you don't like it, stop reading and move on to something you do enjoy. Thanks.

There was a body. Well, in truth, there were four bodies so far. But the whole thing started with a body, the way it always did with Stiles nowadays. Ever since he’d dragged Scott out into the preserve and Scott had been bitten by a deranged Alpha werewolf Stiles always knew the shit was about to hit the fan when the bodies started turning up. 

To begin with it was the people that Peter murdered, Laura was the first body but she was far from the last, Stiles wasn’t sure that he’d ever been as scared as he was when Derek realised Peter was the Alpha, when Stiles realised he was trapped alone with an Alpha werewolf - who’d already bitten and turned his best friend - and his equally crazy nurse. Then Derek had saved him, he’d got his ass kicked but they both survived. It became a bit of a pattern after that, whenever something went wrong for either one of them the other was never far away and together they always survived. Stiles had been happy when Peter died, even if it meant that Derek had had to kill the last member of his family, Peter was dead, Derek was the Alpha and they were safe. 

Of course, then Derek decided to do the stupid thing of biting more teenagers, just what they needed, a pack of teenage werewolves running around who had no idea what they were doing. Stiles had stepped up the research, determined to help all of them as best he could, even if it meant pulling all nighter’s and having his brain filled with so many titbits of information that the only way he’d ever be able to differentiate between truth and myth would be to ask Derek himself. Stiles didn’t think that was a good idea, mainly because he liked his heart to be beating in his chest, not ripped out by werewolf claws, okay so maybe they got on better than they used to, maybe Stiles trusted that Derek wouldn’t seriously hurt him, but, still, there was no need to provoke the guy, Stiles was breakable after all.

The events with Jackson had been hard, he turned into a giant frigging lizard and killed people, he’d tried to kill them too, Stiles had spent two hours holding a paralyzed Derek up in the swimming pool and doing his best not to freak the fuck out. It was not the way he’d imagined getting to press his body up against Derek’s, but, he knew that was never going to happen, Derek was hotness personified, he was tall, dark and handsome, he was all muscle and had the most amazing eyes that Stiles thought were green but the colour kept changing and not just to the electric blue of his wolf, Derek had amazing eyes, gorgeous eyes that Stiles could probably spend all day staring at and still not be able to describe their exact colour, not to mention the eyebrows that had an entire language of their own and the most adorable bunny teeth that Stiles barely ever got to see because Derek was too busy scowling to show them off. There was no way Derek would ever look at Stiles, pale, scrawny, mole-dotted, flailing Stiles, not like that. He knew it and he did his best not to think about Derek in that way either, having werewolf friends (he used that term loosely) who could smell any hint of arousal made a convincing argument for Stiles not to get aroused in their vicinity. 

The night that Jackson had died and then finally turned into a real werewolf, with the help of Lydia’s love (urgh, true love! There goes his ten-year plan, not that he was really that bothered about wooing Lydia anymore!) had been the first time that Derek hadn’t been there when Stiles needed him. Allison’s grandfather, Gerard, had tortured him for hours and Stiles had refused to give up any information on the pack, the guy was crazy, crazier than Peter had been, he was not going to put Derek, Scott or Isaac at risk, Erica and Boyd already were, but that was because they had been tied up across the room from him, bound by electrical wires that slowed their healing abilities and stopped their super strength. They’d just stared in terror as Stiles got his ass handed to him by a sixty-year-old lunatic. Stiles was kind of glad that Derek wasn’t there, admittedly he’d kind of expected there to be someone coming, expected the cavalry to arrive at any point, that someone realised where he was and would come to help him, help them, but nobody did. 

Stiles lost track of time and, at some point, he must have blacked out, when he’d woken up he was lying on the floor of the basement, goosebumps on his bare skin where it came into contact with the freezing floor, he’d managed to stagger to his feet and pull on his t-shirt, ignoring the way it stuck to his side that was still bleeding sluggishly. He stumbled towards Erica and Boyd, his legs feeling like jelly as he studied the device in front of him, the electrical wires disappeared up through the floor boards, there was no way to just shut them off from down here. He glanced around, his eyes landing on a small cloth that was lying nearby, he’d winced as he made his way over to it, he really hurt but he was almost certain that none of the injuries were life threatening, he would probably be fine in a week or two. He had used the cloth to move the wires away from where they came into contact with Erica and Boyd’s skin, ignoring the jolt of pain he still got through the cloth, the job needed to be done so he’d deal with it if it meant the two werewolves got free, besides, what was a little more pain at this point? After twenty minutes he’d managed to remove all of the wires, he wiped a bloody hand across his forehead, wiping away the cold sweat that had formed and looking up to Boyd to check he was healing before examining Erica in the same way, finally letting out a small grin and a shaky laugh that betrayed just how terrified he still was. 

The door upstairs had opened a few minutes after that, the betas hadn’t been able to break out of their chains just yet, Erica assured him that they just needed a bit more time to get their strength back, Stiles decided he’d be able to buy them that time, one way or another. As soon as Boyd had muttered that someone was coming Stiles had rushed (well more kind of stumbled quickly) to the table where the weapons had been left earlier, he’d grabbed hold of a tyre iron, the closest he could get to a bat in the circumstances, and made his way to the top of the stairs, it took him a while, he’d had to stop part way up to catch himself before he fell back down them when his legs shook violently. He’d pushed through it though, got to the top of the stairs and waited for when the door cracked open.

He swung the tyre iron violently as the first hunter entered through the door, knocking him to the ground where he lay motionless, Stiles prayed he hadn’t killed him, he hadn’t meant to kill him, just knock him out. He could see the steady rise and fall of the hunter’s chest and relaxed just slightly, swinging the tyre iron again at the second hunter to appear. The third one tackled him backwards and they fell in a tangle of limbs back down the stairs, Stiles not able to stop the cry of pain as his injuries made themselves known and he hit the ground hard, panting for breath and fighting back tears. 

The third hunter had climbed to his feet easily, snatching the tyre iron from the ground where Stiles had dropped it and started to hit him, Stiles had been unable to stop the yelps of pain he made as the metal struck his body time and time again, unable to do anything other than curl into the foetal position and wait for it to stop. It did, eventually, not because the hunter had decided to take mercy on him but because Boyd and Erica had managed to snap the chains and then run to where the hunter was obliviously still beating Stiles, screaming and ranting about how Gerard had ordered them down here to kill them and he was going to enjoy it, take his time, beat Stiles to death instead of just shooting him quickly which had been the original plan. 

Erica had grabbed the tyre iron and Boyd had grabbed the hunter, throwing him backwards into the far wall where he hit it hard and crumpled to the ground unconscious. Stiles had blinked up at them blearily, his whole body was throbbing with pain and when he tried to move it tore a whimper of pain from his throat, Boyd had scooped him up easily, carrying him in his arms while already starting to drain the pain from him as Erica led the way, the tyre iron still gripped tightly in her fists, claws and fangs out, ready to attack anyone in their path.

They’d made it out of the house without running into anyone else and by the time they were part way back to town Stiles was pretty sure he could walk by himself, Boyd had looked at him nervously but lowered him to the ground, it turned out Stiles was wrong, and his legs buckled the instant his feet touched the floor and it was only because Erica and Boyd were nearby to grab him that he didn’t fall on his face. They told him he needed to go to a hospital, he told them it was fine, he was fine, just that it would take a couple of days to heal up, that he’d go to the school and get cleaned up and then go home and rest. 

He got as far as getting cleaned up at the school, Boyd had carried him the rest of the way there, despite Stiles’ protests. They helped Stiles get cleaned up first considering he was in worse shape than them, their injuries had already healed and Stiles kind of wished for werewolf healing, it wasn’t the first time, probably wouldn’t be the last either, but, he was a human and he’d have to heal at normal human rates. Once Stiles was showered and given painkillers and bandaged (thank God the nurse didn’t lock the door when she left for the day – although Erica might also have picked the lock, he didn’t know and he wasn’t going to ask). Erica and Boyd took quick showers, getting themselves fresh clothes, Erica borrowing some of Boyd’s from his locker before they looked at Stiles in unison, their eyes filled with concern and he had to reassure them again that he was fine, even if it kind of hurt to breathe, but, broken ribs, what could he do about it? Nothing. Neither could the hospital, all they’d do is bind them and tell him to avoid moving and he was doing that already so it was fine. He at least managed to convince them that not only did he not need the hospital but he’d really prefer to keep this between the three of them, they hadn’t exactly been happy about it, there had been a lot of growling, but he’d begged and pleaded and explained that his dad would have a heart attack if he found out about the supernatural, that his dad would be in more danger than he already was and eventually he managed to convince them to keep quiet.

He’d gotten his phone out of his locker and seen the texts from Scott saying that Jackson was attacking them and please could he bring Lydia and help them. Stiles had showed it to Erica and Boyd who had both scowled, told him that they’d find Lydia and he had to go home and rest, he refused to be left out of this though, he didn’t just go through all of that to abandon his pack now when they still needed help, after all, wasn’t that what being pack meant? Being there for each other no matter what? Erica and Boyd both nodded so he figured that maybe he’d said that bit out loud even if he didn’t mean to.

With Erica and Boyd both searching for Lydia it didn’t take them long to find her scent, Stiles had been put in the back seat of his own jeep and Erica had driven it like a lunatic, growling at Lydia to get in when they finally tracked her down and then racing to the warehouse, as Stiles explained in broken sentences what had been going on to Lydia. Stiles decided that nobody else was going to be allowed to drive his jeep ever again when Erica drove it through the wall of the warehouse (fucking THROUGH the wall! Who does that!?). Stiles couldn’t find the energy to move and decided he’d probably lie here and be happy while Lydia dived out of the jeep, calling for Jackson, telling him she loved him, Boyd reached a large hand back and started draining Stiles’ pain again and Stiles smiled at him gratefully, sighing in relief as the pain started to fade. 

Derek had been stood nearby and had looked at him in concern when Stiles had finally made his way out of the jeep, he didn’t approach though, instead looking at Erica and Boyd in surprise as if genuinely never expecting to see his beta’s again. Scott was distracted, checking Allison for injuries, hugging her tightly when he saw that she was indeed okay, Stiles felt his stomach drop at that, could barely stand to look at his best friend. Stiles had nearly been beaten to death and Scott wasn’t even looking at him, too obsessed with the grandchild of the man who had done this to Stiles. Stiles decided that now would be a good time to go home, the pack was reuniting, Isaac hugging Erica and Boyd tightly, Derek observing his betas with gentle eyes, a fond smile on his lips even as Jackson and Lydia approached him, and Jackson studied him with wide eyes before Derek pulled him into a gentle hug. Stiles’ brain may have stopped for a moment when he saw Peter emerging from the shadows, none of the others seemed surprised though so this mustn’t have been that new of a development, especially not when Derek nodded at him in greeting. 

Stiles moved towards the side of his jeep again, not exactly surprised that Scott was the only one who hadn’t accepted Derek as his Alpha, the guy could be such an idiot at times. Stiles didn’t want to deal with it right now though, he wanted to go home and sleep for a month, he managed to climb into the jeep without making a single noise of pain and would have thrown himself a little victory dance if the thought of moving didn’t make him want to cry. Derek finally approached when Stiles had shut the door and he wound down the window to speak to him.

“Are you alright? I can smell blood.” Derek said and Stiles nodded, he would have shrugged but that would have hurt.

“Yeah, no big deal, some guys on the other team decided to teach me a lesson but I’m alright, just a couple of bruises.” Stiles lied easily, Derek frowned as if listening to his heartbeat for the lie and then nodded, seemingly satisfied that Stiles was telling the truth. 

“Did you get their names?” Derek asked and Stiles shook his head.

“Nah man, but don’t worry about it, I’m okay.” 

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.” Stiles lied again and Derek nodded before turning on his heel and moving back to his pack as Stiles started the jeep and went to drive away. Erica and Boyd jumped in as the jeep started to move, telling Derek that they’d meet him back at the train station but they just needed to get some things from Stiles first. Erica started draining his pain the instant they were out of sight and Stiles felt his eyes close automatically in relief, glad when Boyd took hold of the wheel, hopefully he was going to be slightly more careful with Stiles’ baby than Erica had been.

After reassuring his dad that he was indeed fine, the three of them had gone up to his bedroom and Stiles had collapsed onto the bed absolutely exhausted, he was a little surprised to feel both Erica and Boyd climb into the bed with him, one on either side, but when they started to drain the pain from him he couldn’t help the little sigh of thanks he made as he closed his eyes and slipped into sleep. 

When he woke the next morning Erica and Boyd were both gone and Stiles felt like shit, every single movement sending waves of pain through him, he decided he didn’t really need food that badly and, since his dad was at work, there was no need to get up. He got a text from Erica later that afternoon explaining that they’d had to leave because Derek had turned up at Stiles’ window and he wasn’t happy with them. Stiles wasn’t sure why Derek would be pissed at the two betas spending time with him but he figured that maybe Derek needed time together with his pack. 

It had been three weeks since then, he’d found out from Erica and Isaac (who was surprisingly nice to Stiles now for whatever reason, he was getting on better with Stiles than Scott and wasn’t that just saying something) that Derek had finally got his act together and was renting a loft on the outskirts of the industrial estate, apparently it was very nice and Lydia had text him to tell him to come over so he could admire her interior design skills (who knew all it would take for them to be friends was for Stiles to forget all about his pathetic crush on her). He hadn’t spoken to Scott in the three weeks since that night, he’d spent the time by himself, not even seeing any of the pack, it was more important that he spent his time resting and healing. Not that Scott had made any kind of effort to speak to Stiles, but, Stiles wasn’t going to dwell on that. Even now he still wasn’t completely better, his ribs still protested slightly if he moved too quickly and some of the cuts he knew would leave scars but at least most of the bruising had faded now and at least the cuts were healing, even if he would always carry reminders of that night. 

He'd arrived at the building and cursed his luck when he saw the lift was out of order, by the time he made it to the top floor he was panting for breath and holding his side as his ribs throbbed with pain in time with the beating of his heart. Before he even had a chance to steady himself the door to the loft was being thrown open and Boyd was striding out, grabbing his wrist and sucking the pain out, Stiles smiled at him gratefully and straightened up before the rest of the pack appeared and Boyd dropped his hand from Stiles’ wrist and took a step away from him, Derek was staring at where they had been connected with narrowed eyes and Stiles wasn’t even going to try and figure out what that meant. 

So, there were bodies, four to be exact, he should have known that Derek wouldn’t want him around unless it was to attempt to be useful in some way. The rest of the pack were gathered around the large open plan living room, Scott’s absence didn’t seem to make any difference to the pack and Stiles worried for his best friend, it wasn’t right for Scott not to be with the pack, he made a mental note to go find him later, speak to him and explain that he needed a pack, that wolves always needed a pack around them, and a pack of actual werewolves, not Allison and Stiles who would never be able to understand the urges and struggles that Scott went through. 

“Let me just get this straight,” Stiles sighed, running a hand through his hair and a little bit surprised that his hair had actually grown enough for him to run his fingers through it, “You found a body in the woods, a body that looks like it’s had a spear rammed through the chest and then rather than calling me so I could take a proper look at it, you called the police? Who then closed off the scene so you couldn’t take any pictures? And then they found another three bodies in the nearby vicinity with the same injury and you didn’t smell them?” Stiles said in disbelief as the wolves nodded, “Right, and what exactly do you want me to do? Research what supernatural creatures go around stabbing people with spears? How are we even sure it’s supernatural?” 

“Well, it was wider than a spear.” Jackson said, holding out his hands and making a circle, if he was to be believed Stiles guessed they would have been able to clearly see the ground through the hole in the victim’s chests, he waved a hand in dismissal.

“No, plunge the spear in and twist.” Stiles demonstrated with an imaginary spear, “Depending on the width of the point it would be quite easy to do that.”

“Could you speak to your dad? See if you could get copies of the pictures they’ve taken? Maybe that’ll help?” Derek suggested tightly, sounding tense, Stiles frowned, it was typical of Derek, Stiles wasn’t telling his dad anything about any of this to protect him even if it was destroying their relationship and now Derek wanted him to risk it even further by stealing photos from police evidence because, let’s be honest, there was no way his dad was just going to give him copies of the photos.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Stiles sighed wearily, “Anything else you can tell me? Did the victims have anything in common?” 

“Not that we could see, I mean, we didn’t even know the other bodies were there until the police found them and by that point we were being asked to leave.” Lydia explained, “Although, we have to go down to the station later to give statements, maybe you could speak to your dad then?” 

“Sure, I can try. Anyway, I was planning to go and speak to Scott so I guess I’ll see you at the station later.” Stiles shrugged, turning on his heel before pausing when Derek called out.

“Scott? Why are you going to talk to him? You think he might know something about these murders?” 

“No. I’m going because he’s my best friend and he might be an idiot like a lot of the time, but, he’s also a werewolf who needs to realise that he needs a pack around to help him because there’s going to be things that you guys know that I don’t.” 

“And you think we’d want him in our pack?” Peter remarked, raising an eyebrow is disdain. 

“Look creeper, it’s not up to you, it’s up to Derek, and I know Scott’s had moments of complete stupidity, but if Derek will take back a murdering, kidnapping crazy guy then surely Scott has a chance? He’s a good guy and I know Derek wants to help him even if we may have accused him of murder once or twice.” Stiles glanced to Derek who was pursing his lips and refusing to meet Stiles’ eyes, Stiles suddenly felt nervous, he’d been so sure that Scott would be welcomed into the pack if he only asked. “Right? I mean, why wouldn’t you want to help him?” 

“Maybe because he helped Gerard, got Jackson to paralyze Derek and then forced him to bite Gerard in an attempt to turn him.” Peter replied and Stiles gaped at him, that couldn’t be right? Someone would have told him, Scott would have told him, he wouldn’t have been working with Gerard. 

“What?” Stiles said stupidly, trying to wrap his mind around that Scott had been working with Gerard, he looked to Erica and Boyd who both looked just as shocked by the information, approaching Stiles who was having trouble catching his breath, Scott, Scott had known? He’d known what Gerard was doing? To Erica and Boyd? To him? He grabbed hold of the back of the sofa, trying to use it to keep himself upright, because it was getting harder to breathe and Stiles had been tortured and Scott had known? 

“Breathe Stiles.” Erica’s voice came from far away, he felt a hand on his chest, as if the touch could calm his racing heart. He focused on her voice, watched as she slowly came back into focus, looking at him with wide worried eyes, the rest of the pack hovering behind her. 

“Did he know?” Stiles croaked, “Did Scott know what Gerard was planning?”

“No.” Boyd offered reassuringly at the same time that Jackson said “Yes.” And all eyes turned to him.

“Scott knew that Gerard was going to kill me to get me to evolve into the Alpha kanima and that I’d paralyze Derek so that Gerard could get him to bite him. Then he was planning to kill Derek and become the Alpha himself, except Scott had dosed his pills with mountain ash so when the bite took it messed up the change.” 

“Stiles,” Boyd said soothingly when Stiles’ breathing faltered slightly, “Listen to me, listen, Scott didn’t know. He wouldn’t have known. I promise you. He wouldn’t have done that.” 

“But he did.” Lydia snapped. “He worked with Gerard and, by all accounts, if the mountain ash hadn’t worked Gerard would have been a werewolf, he would have killed all of you and Scott risked it to protect Allison and his mom.” 

“I’ve got to go.” Stiles said quickly, feeling sick at this revelation, would Scott have allowed Gerard to torture them if it had been to protect his mom and Allison? Erica and Boyd, yeah, probably, it wasn’t exactly a secret that Scott wasn’t their biggest fans because they’d taken the bite by choice whereas it had been forced on him, if it was a choice between Erica and Boyd and Allison and Melissa of course Scott was going to let Gerard have them. But, Stiles? Would Scott have chosen to protect Stiles? Risk his mom’s safety for Stiles’? Risk Allison’s? Stiles needed to get out of there, needed to get away. 

He spun on his heel and ran out of the loft, ignoring the shouts of the pack behind him as he fled down the stairs and out to his jeep, slamming the door shut, revving the engine and speeding away. He didn’t know where he was going, where he wanted to go to, all he knew was that he couldn’t deal with what he knew, he couldn’t believe it, Scott, he cared about Stiles, right? He wouldn’t have left him to be beaten to death, not under any circumstances, he had to believe that.

He drove to Scott’s house, half expecting him not to be there, to be out with Allison, but as soon as Stiles stopped the jeep Scott opened the front door and stood in the doorway looking at Stiles with a small smile on his lips. 

“Hey buddy.” Scott grinned before Stiles got closer and the smile fell from his lips. “You’ve been hanging out with the pack?” He complained and Stiles tensed. 

“I went over earlier, they found a body, they think it’s supernatural.” He said, his voice sounding unnatural even to his own ears, Scott obviously noticed and frowned at Stiles, “Why didn’t you tell me? Why the hell were you working with Gerard? Did you think you couldn’t come to me for help or something? Because you know that I would have helped you, we would have found a way to protect your mom and deal with Gerard without putting everybody’s lives at risk.”

“Really? That’s what you want to argue about!?” Scott rolled his eyes, “Stiles, he was threatening Allison too. How the hell was I supposed to get her away from him when she thought we were the enemy? I knew you’d come up with something, something to protect mom and protect the pack but not her, you wouldn’t have thought about her. I had to.” 

“So you just decided to risk everyone else!?” Stiles shouted, “You thought it was okay to put everyone else in danger without consulting them because of Allison!?” He said in disbelief.

“You don’t understand. It’s Allison. I had to protect her from him.” Scott replied evenly, although there was a hint of gold in his eyes.

“What about me!? What about the pack!? Did you not care about us? Did you not think about any of us at all?” Stiles almost screamed, he couldn’t believe Scott could be this selfish, this self-centred. 

“Stiles, it worked, didn’t it? I don’t know why you’re so upset? We all came out of it unscathed. Besides, I don’t get why you’re including yourself in the pack, you’re human, you’re not pack.” Scott replied and Stiles felt like he’d been punched in the stomach and his mouth gaped open. 

“What?” Stiles voice cracked for the second time that day and he was trying not to have another panic attack, that would just be pathetic. 

“You’re a human, you don’t count as pack. Lydia is obviously something supernatural so I get why she’s involved but you’re not, a pack of werewolves wouldn’t want a human running around with them, they’re only using you for your research skills. You should come hang out with me instead, we can catch up, I haven’t heard from you in weeks.” Scott said, tilting his head to indicate they should go inside, Stiles was shaking, Scott had said it simply, so matter of factly, Stiles wasn’t pack, it felt like the very ground he was standing on was crumbling underneath him. 

He’d never needed anyone, after his mom died he made sure that he’d never need anyone again, he’d always had his dad and Scott but that was it, he’d be fine so long as he had them. Then Derek had come along and they’d been thrust into the world of werewolves and Stiles, well, he’d started to let his guards down, just a bit, he’d started to believe it would be okay to need other people from time to time, need them to keep him alive, repay the favour on the odd occasion. Except Scott had betrayed him and risked the lives of the people he cared about and Stiles couldn’t even bare to look at him right now. 

“You’re an omega Scott.” Stiles snarled angrily, “You know what the hunters would do if they found you in the woods by yourself? Gerard would use that lovely sword of his to cut you in half. You need a pack.”

“I have Allison and you.” 

“Except we’re humans Scott!” Stiles practically spat, “We’re humans which means we aren’t a pack, which makes you an omega!” He couldn’t help the satisfaction he felt when Scott paled considerably as if this had only just dawned on him, “So, if I was you, I would go and throw myself at the mercy of the local Alpha and beg him to forgive you for betraying him and let you into the pack.” Stiles turned on his heel and headed back to his jeep, driving off angrily despite the fact he could hear Scott calling after him. Stiles was angry, so god damn angry, he’d been tortured because of Scott, he’d spent the past three weeks healing because of Scott, he was going to bear scars for the rest of his life because of Scott. He shook his head, no, that wasn’t fair. Gerard was the one who had beaten him, tortured him, Gerard, not Scott. It wasn’t his fault. It was Gerard’s, and he was still out there somewhere, no doubt planning his next move. Stiles fought back the wave of panic he felt at that thought choosing instead to head towards the station and hope his dad was there and not still at the crime scene. 

He stopped off at the nearest burger joint, hoping to sweeten the deal, bumping into Heather while he was there, they’d gone to pre-school together and were close, but then his mom died and Stiles spent a lot of time alone and Heather made new friends, they still chatted but they weren’t as close as they had been, they didn’t have any classes together either which didn’t seem to bother either of them so it was a bit of a surprise when she smiled at him and approached him, holding on to the hand of the guy next to her.

“Stiles!” She grinned, wrapping a hand around his back and pulling him into a hug, Stiles allowed it but he kept eye contact with the guy who was still holding Heather’s other hand and looking at Stiles with a small smirk. “It’s been so long, too long, how’ve you been?” Heather asked excitedly.

“Oh, um, you know, same old same old.” He replied glancing again at the guy next to her.

“Oh, gosh, sorry, Stiles, this is my boyfriend Finn, Finn this is Stiles, we went to pre-school together.” Heather smiled as she made the introductions, Stiles shook Finn’s hand, assessing the other boy, he was paler than Stiles (that really said something) with dark hair and almost black eyes, there was something off about him though, as if his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes and he was looking Stiles up and down, as if, well, it kind of looked like Finn was checking him out but Stiles thought he was probably imagining it, he pulled his hand away from Finn’s and nodded to the queue he was standing near.

“Well, anyway, I’m just grabbing dad a burger, he’s going to be at work for a while, figure he deserves a little bit of grease after a day like today.” 

“Why? Is everything okay?” Heather asked and Stiles nodded.

“Oh yeah, yeah, he’s fine, just police work and stuff.”

“Your dad’s the sheriff, isn’t he?” Finn asked and Stiles nodded, “I’m guessing he’s working on the case with the bodies in the woods?” 

“Um.” Stiles wasn’t sure how anybody knew about that already and he didn’t really want to discuss it.

“Don’t worry, we won’t say anything if you don’t, just, it’s all over town already. Four of them, and it sounds pretty horrendous, you should get in the queue, your dad deserves a burger, definitely. See you later Stiles.” Heather chatted happily, already pulling Finn towards the door and both of them turning back to wave at him before disappearing into the parking lot, heads together and muttering furiously, Heather glancing back at Stiles with a frown before she saw him looking and turned away again. Stiles shrugged, it wasn’t the weirdest interaction he’d ever had but it was probably in the top hundred, he stood in the queue surprised to find that Finn and Heather had been right, everybody already seemed to know about the bodies. He decided to buy his dad the best burger they had and even got a portion of curly fries for him too. 

“Hey daddio!” Stiles called out, opening the office door brandishing the carton of fast food in front of him. Noah looked at him in surprise, his eyes narrowing suspiciously when Stiles placed the container in front of him and he opened it to see the burger and chips.

“Alright, what do you want?” 

“Me? Nothing.” Stiles said mock offended, “Honestly dad, I heard about the murders and thought you’d want something to cheer you up, are you calling them murders by the way? Or do you think they like all wandered out there by themselves?” 

“No Stiles.” Noah sighed wearily.

“No as in they are murders?” Stiles queried.

“No, as in, no I’m not playing this game with you. You’re not to get involved in this. This is official police business which means you need to keep your nose out.” Stiles opened his mouth to reply when there was a knock on the door and one of the deputies entered.

“Sorry to bother you sheriff, those kids that found the body, they’re here to give their statements?” The deputy informed them, Stiles thought she looked vaguely familiar but honestly there were so many new faces recently it was hard to keep track. 

“Right, okay, I’ll come and speak to them.” Noah said, getting up from his desk and barely glancing at Stiles before he left the office. As soon as the door shut Stiles moved to the desk, opening the large file and trying not to heave at the gory sight of the dead bodies in front of him, it was obvious that they had all been dumped at different times if the decay was anything to go by. He took pictures on his phone quickly, not only of the photos but of the case notes so far, knowing he wouldn’t have long before his dad would be back, he flicked to the next page and the door opened unexpectedly. 

His dad was glaring at him, breathing heavily and Stiles stood stock still behind the desk, knowing that as soon as he moved the spell would be broken and his dad was going to be pissed. Noah shut the door behind him and Stiles tensed, already wincing from what he knew was going to be a crappy tongue lashing that would make him feel incredibly guilty.

“What the hell are you doing!?” Noah hissed coldly and Stiles found that he didn’t have the words, couldn’t explain why he would be snooping through a police file, “Forget it. You know what Stiles, I’ve had enough of this. I’ve had enough of you lying to me at every given opportunity, I’ve had enough of you treating me like an idiot when I know you’re involved in something. I don’t know what, I don’t know if it’s drugs or gangs or guns or what, but I am fed up of it, of all of it.” Noah seethed and Stiles didn’t know what to say, there was nothing he could say, he couldn’t tell him the truth, he’d be in danger. Stiles had to keep him safe. “You come home with bruises and lie about how you get them or you don’t come home at all and think because I’m at work I don’t know these things and I have had it up to here with all your lies!” Noah shouted, no longer keeping his voice quiet, anger radiating from every pore as he grabbed Stiles by the arm and pulled him towards the door, “I give up. Are you happy now? I give up. I don’t even know who you are anymore, your mother wouldn’t even recognise you, she’d be disappointed in you.” Noah finished, his nostrils flaring with rage as he shoved Stiles out of his office door and into the main reception. Stiles saw the pack standing on the other side of the room, no doubt they had heard every word and Stiles tried not to blush with shame, “I can’t even look at you right now. Go home, get out of my sight.”

Stiles didn’t look up as he fled the station, unable to believe that he’d finally pushed his father too far, of course he knew it was only a matter of time, he knew at some point his dad would get fed up of the lies, fed up of the secrets, but he thought he had more time, thought he’d be able to do something, keep some form of their relationship alive, except, except now he stood no chance. His mother would be disappointed in him, those words caused an ache in chest like nothing he’d ever felt before and he hadn’t even realised that the tears were falling until the road in front of him blurred to the point that he could no longer drive. 

He pulled up at the side of the road, swiping furiously at the tears and sucking in great heaving breaths, sure that if he drew in enough oxygen it would stop feeling like someone had torn his heart straight out of his chest. 

Eventually he managed to get control of himself and drove back to his empty house, going straight to his room and shutting the door, he had to figure out who or what had killed those people, getting this information had cost him his relationship with his dad, he had to at least make it worth it. He printed out the pictures he’d taken and read through the reports several times, staring at the pictures for any additional clues before he finally pulled out the supernatural books that he had acquired and that were stashed under his bed and out of sight. 

Derek could hear the steady beating of Stiles’ heart from where he stood near the tree outside his window, he wanted to go up there and apologise but he wasn’t sure what he could possibly say to make this right. The last few weeks had made his head spin, all this crap with Jackson and Gerard and Scott, the moment he’d been paralyzed, the moment he figured out what the hell was going on, that Gerard was going to use him to get the bite, all he could think was that he was so relieved that Stiles wasn’t there. 

He knew Scott hadn’t thought the plan all the way through, knew that he wouldn’t have thought about what Gerard would do once he had the bite, once he’d turned. Derek knew that Gerard would kill him to become the Alpha and then he’d kill the rest of them and all Derek could think was thank god Stiles wasn’t there, that maybe, just maybe, he’d be safe, he’d be spared because he was human. Derek hadn’t known about Scott’s plan, it was a stupid plan but it worked, thank god, and then Erica and Boyd were coming crashing through the wall and Stiles was there and Lydia was screaming for Jackson and somewhere in all that mess Gerard escaped. 

He wanted to go to Stiles, check that he was okay because Stiles had bruises on his face and something must have happened, Derek could smell blood but whenever there were bruises he could smell blood close to the surface, Stiles told him about the other team without any lie in his heartbeat and Derek believed him. 

He’d watched as Stiles had left with two of his beta’s, the two he thought had left him, never to return but had come back for some reason, he’d have to speak to them about it but now wasn’t the time. He’d decided to go check up on Stiles that night and was surprised to find both betas wrapped around Stiles in his bed, he was suddenly filled with jealously, he didn’t know where it had come from but he had growled at them until they awoke and slipped out of the bed easily, looking just as surprised as Derek felt. 

He’d gone with them leaving Stiles alone in the house, walking in silence back to the abandoned train station, Isaac had gone to sleep a while ago, Lydia and Jackson were at Lydia’s house and Peter was god only knew where, it was just the three of them and Derek turned to face them, knowing that they needed to talk, that something needed to change if he had any chance of keeping his pack together.

“Why did you come back?” He asked and Erica visibly flinched.

“Are we not welcome?” Boyd asked evenly and Derek sighed wearily, lowering himself into one of the nearby chairs and motioning the betas to do the same.

“Of course you are, I just, I don’t understand. You were determined that you were going to leave, join up with the other pack, I just, I don’t know why you’d come back to me when I’ve made every mistake it’s possible to make.” Derek replied and Erica clutched Boyd’s hand before smiling softly at Derek, none of her usual sarcasm in her features, looking like she actually cared.

“We should have been more understanding. You were never supposed to be an Alpha, you’re as new to being an Alpha as we are to being wolves and we should have taken the time, given you the time to learn properly. We’re sorry.” 

“I should be the one saying sorry. I’ve been so focused on making sure you can control your wolves so that you won’t be in danger that I haven’t acted like an Alpha to you.” Derek muttered. “But it still doesn’t explain why you came back? Did you not find the other pack?” 

“No.” Boyd hesitated, “We found them, except it wasn’t a pack. Gerard had recorded wolves, we ran into a trap.” At his words, Derek tensed, studying them again to check for signs of damage, to check that they really were alright, that they were safe.

“What happened?” He asked angrily, wishing that he’d realised, that he’d killed Gerard that night for daring to hurt his pack.

“He held us in his basement for a few hours, questioned us and then eventually, after he’d left for the warehouse, we managed to escape.” 

“Did he hurt you? Are you okay?” 

“Boyd and I are fine.” Erica reassured him, “He was brutal but we heal quickly so the two of us are fine.” Boyd was impressed with how easily Erica lied, well, no, she was telling the truth but she was also leaving out the fact that Stiles had been there, that he was human and he wouldn’t heal instantly like them. “When we got out we went to the school and got cleaned up, Stiles was there, he got a text on his phone about Jackson and we came with him and on the way, Stiles said something, about how pack would do anything for each other, no matter what and, well, we sort of talked, about coming back, staying with you. About how we hadn’t really given you a fair chance, just that we were scared and we thought it would be better to run than fight. Then we picked Lydia up and Stiles told her about Jackson and everything else and then, yeah, well, you know the rest.” 

Derek nodded, he would have to thank Stiles, somehow Stiles had been the one to bring his betas back to him, who knows what could have happened to them if Stiles hadn’t met them at the school? They could have been captured by Gerard again, or decided that running was the better option, or, well, any number of things. He’d have to thank Stiles properly.

“You know, I couldn’t help but notice a hint of jealousy earlier.” Erica teased and Derek frowned, “I completely understand why, Stiles is pretty awesome. But, I can’t help but think, if you want to impress him, maybe you could, I don’t know, get a real house? With a proper bed? Show him that you can look after the pack?” 

“I don’t…” Derek trailed off, he wasn’t sure what he had been going to say, he couldn’t deny that he had feelings for Stiles, that had been blatantly obvious to all three of them, it had been a revelation because he knew he cared about Stiles, but he’d not realised he cared about him in a way that made him growl with jealously at seeing someone else cuddled up next to Stiles, even when it was members of his own pack. Now that he knew, that he acknowledged it, he couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his chest at the very thought of Stiles, Erica and Boyd both smiled when they saw Derek’s eyes soften as he thought things through. “You’re right.” He said determinedly. He hadn’t done a good job of things so far, but he could do better, not just to impress Stiles, but to provide for his pack, the way he should have been doing from the start. He glanced over at Isaac still fast asleep on the old mattress and frowned, he’d made so many mistakes but it wasn’t too late to fix them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sexual assault takes place in this chapter

It hadn’t taken him long to find a suitable loft with wide open spaces making it perfect for the wolves if they wanted to crowd together, he approached Lydia for her help with decorating and the girl had grinned at him wildly before taking his credit card and swanning off, returning hours later with three trucks following behind her full of furniture. He didn’t bear to think how much that had cost, even if he knew he could afford it. 

Everyone seemed to pull together to make the loft homely, even Peter stopped his lurking long enough to get a television and game station set up, Isaac had grinned happily when Derek had shown them their own rooms, although some people would have to share because it only had four bedrooms so naturally Erica and Boyd and Lydia and Jackson would have to share, Derek had been about to say that Peter could share with him when Isaac surprised them all and offered that Peter stay in his bedroom, Peter had stared at him incredulously. 

“Well, I figure at some point Derek is going to want Stiles in with him so it makes sense for you to stay with me.” Isaac shrugged and Derek had gaped at him, “What? Was it a secret?” 

“What? That’s he’s doing this to impress Stiles? Not really, but, maybe don’t just blurt it out next time.” Peter teased.

“Not just to impress him.” Derek said, ignoring the way that Jackson was staring at him like he’d grown a second head, “I mean, I want, for all of us, to have somewhere we could call home if we want, and, okay, yeah I want Stiles to like it too, but, you’re all my pack, so I want you all to be happy here, if you want?” 

“Wow.” Lydia said in astonishment, all of them following Jackson’s lead and looking at him like he was insane.

“What?” He almost growled.

“Just, you used words, at least for a minute, it was nice.” Isaac shrugged before grabbing his things and taking them towards his room.

Stiles had turned up at the loft a few days later, after they’d found the bodies, and Derek had watched as Stiles had a panic attack at the very thought of Scott betraying them. He wanted to help but he wasn’t sure how and then Erica was there, reassuring him as Boyd continued to say that Scott hadn’t known, he was confused, Scott had known, he’d been plotting with Gerard, it was obvious that Scott had known, they all knew that, so why was Boyd lying to him? It didn’t make any sense, especially because Boyd’s heart rate didn’t increase, he wasn’t lying, this didn’t make any sense and he was confused but before he could say anything Stiles was spinning away from them and out of the door before any of them could say another word. Derek tried not to be disappointed but Stiles hadn’t even looked around the loft and he was gone. 

They’d gone to the station to give their statements and Derek had heard Stiles’ heartbeat in his father’s office, when the sheriff stepped out to greet them he heard Stiles shift around, no doubt reviewing the case information while he was alone. The sheriff said hello, explained that a deputy would be taking their statements shortly and then turned to go back to the office, there was no time to warn Stiles, no way to delay the sheriff and then it was too late. 

They’d all watched on in silence, listening to the words Noah spat in anger and watching helplessly as Stiles left the station without looking back. Derek knew that Stiles had taken his father’s words to heart, knew that he’d no doubt be hating himself right now and Derek wanted to go up to his room and comfort him but he wasn’t sure what he could possibly say that would make it better. 

Eventually he worked up the courage to scale the tree and climb in through the open window and spent a moment just observing the teen before Stiles spun around in his chair and met Derek’s gaze.

“What do you want?” Stiles asked, sounding so hostile that it took Derek by surprise and he frowned, all of his carefully planned words of comfort forgotten.

“I came to see how you were getting on with the research?” He found himself saying, internally cursing at how stiff he sounded. 

“I’m working on it, I mean, there’s not even any guarantee that this thing is supernatural, why are you so sure it is?”

“Around the bodies, there was a scent, it wasn’t human, or any animal I’ve ever heard of.” Derek muttered.

“Alright, you think you’d be able to pick up the scent again? It might be easier than looking through these books?” 

“Maybe, but then it was weak to begin with, old, like whatever it is hadn’t been there for a while. I don’t know that I’d be able to recognise it again, but I can try.”

“Okay.” Stiles blew out air heavily, “Well, that makes you useless right now, so I’m going to get back to research and you can go tell the others that I’m working as hard as I can.” Stiles replied still sounding off and Derek worried that he was only making things worse.

“Alright, sure, I’ll go tell the pack and you’ll call? When you find something?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll call. Now get out and go back to your pack so I can concentrate.” Stiles said, already turning back to his desk and dismissing Derek. 

“My pack?” Derek queried, Stiles usually just included himself as part of the pack which suited Derek just fine, but now it sounded wrong. 

“Duh, you’re the Alpha, aren’t you?” Stiles quipped without even turning around.

“Yeah, but, I mean, you…” Derek trailed off slightly trying to figure out what it was that he was trying to say.

“What? Me what? It’s not like I’m pack Derek. It’s pretty damn obvious.” Stiles said gritting his teeth, sounding angry and pained at the same time and Derek didn’t know what the hell was happening, did Stiles not want to be part of the pack anymore? Derek could understand, maybe Stiles wanted to distance himself, wanted to try and repair his relationship with his dad, Derek knew he would do the same thing under the circumstances. He tried not to feel like his world was crumbling, he’d just sort of assumed Stiles would always be pack.

“I understand.” Derek replied as evenly as he could, not sure what else he could say, Stiles had decided the relationship with his dad was more important than being in the pack and Derek had to acknowledge that, he might disagree, think that Stiles was making the wrong decision, that his dad should just find out about them, but it was Stiles’ decision to make and Derek guessed he would have to support it, even if it felt so incredibly wrong.

Stiles had wanted Derek to disagree, wanted him to tell him that of course he was pack and Stiles was being ridiculous but he didn’t, he understood, what the hell did that mean!? Had Stiles just been a complete idiot for ever believing that he could have been pack? That they cared about him as much as he cared about them? 

“Alright, okay, so, get going then and let me concentrate.” Stiles said finally, waiting until he knew Derek had left before he put his head in his hands and sighed heavily. 

He heard his dad come in the early hours of the morning, listened to his exhausted footsteps as he trudged up the stairs and into his own room without checking on Stiles, Stiles fought back the urge to break into tears, he’d never expected his dad to cut him off like this, never expected him to be so angry and disappointed in Stiles, all he wanted was to keep him safe. 

He momentarily wondered if his dad would even bother to check if he wasn’t here, if Stiles left, went somewhere else, anywhere else, how long before his dad would even notice he was gone? That thought hurt, mainly because he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving his dad alone, no, he’d just have to work harder, try and repair their destroyed relationship, after all, it was Stiles’ fault they were in this mess it was up to Stiles to fix it.

He must have fallen asleep at his desk because he woke up with pieces of paper stuck to his cheek, he wasn’t sure what had woken him but there was no doubt he was awake now, his mind racing as he recounted yesterday’s events. Part of him wanted to believe it really was a dream but as he wandered down the hall and past his dad’s empty room and saw the drive empty of the cruiser he knew it was true. He made himself a mug of coffee, feeling too queasy to eat, and headed back up to do more research. 

The next three days passed in a blur, Stiles knew that his dad hadn’t been home in those three days, working on the case, he’d heard from Derek that another body had been found on the other side of town, Derek had asked if Stiles had been able to narrow it down at all and Stiles had practically burst into tears, he was exhausted and he wasn’t getting anywhere and his dad wasn’t speaking to him and all he wanted to do was curl up in his dads lap and tell him how sorry he was, how much of a mess he’d made of things and how he’d do anything to fix things with them. Anything except tell him about werewolves and put him at risk, he couldn’t lose his dad, couldn’t put him in more danger by knowing about the things that go bump in the night, he had to keep him safe, he wouldn’t survive if anything happened to his dad. 

He’d wanted to go down to the station and try to speak to his dad to make things right but he’d decided that it was probably the last thing his dad wanted, seeing him at the station would probably only remind his dad of what Stiles had done. It wouldn’t solve anything, it would probably only make things worse.

He decided on calling his dad, perhaps suggesting that they go out for dinner and talk, he’d have to lie to his dad the whole time but maybe he’d be able to repair some of the damage he’d caused. He screwed up all of his courage and pressed call, holding his breath while he waited for it to connect. 

“What do you want?” Noah sighed wearily and Stiles swallowed, fighting back the tears in his eyes as he cleared his throat.

“I wondered if you wanted to go out to the diner? Get some food?” Stiles said, knowing how pathetically small his voice sounded. 

“No.” Noah replied evenly, “I’m busy with the case.”

“I can bring you some food to the station?” Stiles said almost desperately. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, do you?” Noah replied and then sighed again when Stiles remained silent, “Look, Stiles, I meant what I said the other day, I’ve had enough of you lying to me. Until you decide to tell me the truth, I don’t think there’s anything left to say.” There was a pause while Stiles sat speechless, his dad’s words from the other day ringing through his ears, ‘your mother would be disappointed in you’. He fought back a sob. “I’ve got to go.” Noah finished, sighing a final time, the disappointment evident in that one sound, before he hung up and Stiles sat staring at the phone in silence. It was all his fault. He was the one that had lied time and time again to his dad. He knew his dad wanted the truth but how could Stiles do that to him? How could he put him in more danger? His dad was the one person he knew he couldn’t survive without, if anything happened to him it would be Stiles’ fault, he couldn’t risk that, even if it meant being filled with so much guilt it was almost overwhelming.

When his phone rang an hour later with an unknown number for one brief second Stiles thought it might be his dad and he snatched it up quickly.

“Hello!?”

“Stiles? Hey, it’s Heather.” Heather replied and Stiles looked at the phone in surprise.

“Hey Heather, everything okay?” He hoped his voice didn’t sound as disappointed as he felt. 

“Um, actually, no, it’s not. I was wondering, I just, I saw, there was something and I don’t know, I guess I don’t want to waste police time and I thought I could tell you and you’d know if it was a waste of time.” Heather rambled and Stiles’ mind raced as he processed her words.

“What do you mean? What did you see? Is it to do with the murders do you think?” Stiles quizzed her quickly.

“Yeah, yeah it is, at least, I think so. Look, can we meet up? Talk?” 

“Sure.” Stiles said, trying not to get excited, it could be nothing, “I can meet you in town in like half an hour?” He was already trying to shove a foot into one of his shoes, hopping on the other as he dashed to the wardrobe to grab a jumper.

“No.” She said quickly, “I mean, I don’t want to talk about it in public, can I, can we meet at yours? Is your dad in? Will he be home soon?” 

“Dad’s at the station, will be for the next few days probably.” Stiles tried not to sound sullen about that, “So, yeah, that’s fine, come over and we’ll talk.”

“Okay great.” Heather sounded so much more relaxed that Stiles was worried, what the hell had she seen that had her so tense? He had to find out. “Finn and I will be there in about ten minutes?” He was a little surprised that Finn was with her, but, maybe he’d seen it too, this was good news, two witnesses, two corroborating stories, it could really narrow down his search. 

“No problem. See you then.” He hung up the phone and dashed around his room, attempting to tidy it up before realising they could have the discussion downstairs, it wasn’t like his dad was around to accidently overhear it. He was just rushing down the stairs when his phone rang again but this time it was Derek. “Hey dude, you okay?”

“Fine.” Derek replied gruffly, “How’s the research going?” 

“I think I might have something, give me like an hour, no, scratch that, make it two, and then I’ll call you back?” 

“Have something how?” Derek asked sounding annoyed and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“I don’t know just yet, just, yeah, give me two hours and then I’ll call you, it might be nothing.”

“Two hours Stiles, then I’m coming over and we’ll discuss it.” Derek replied and Stiles grinned. 

“Sure thing, I might still have guests though, so maybe act like a civilised person and use the front door, I’ll even leave it unlocked for you.” Stiles teased and Derek growled, no doubt about to snap at him about something when the doorbell rang and Stiles crossed his fingers for luck, “Got to go, see you in a couple of hours.” He hung up before Derek could say another word and opened the door, smiling slightly when he saw both Heather and Finn there. “Hey guys, come in.” He showed them into the house and shut the door leaving it unlocked just in case Derek arrived before Heather and Finn left. 

Heather and Finn both sat down at the kitchen table, holding each other’s hands tightly, both of them looked nervous, but, also kind of excited and Stiles really hoped that they had something worthwhile to tell him. 

“Can I get you guys a drink?” Stiles asked, holding out a couple of bottles of soda from the fridge and giving them both a quick smile when they nodded. He handed them a bottle, opening his own and taking a swig before he realised he’d left his notes upstairs. “I just need to grab some notes, give me a sec.” He said, already dashing out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He was back downstairs two minutes later, the abbreviated case notes on one piece of paper, hopefully it would be able to agree with what Finn and Heather saw and he could narrow down the list of possibilities. “So, what did you see? And I promise, nothing surprises me, so just tell me honestly, don’t worry that I’ll think you’re crazy or anything, I’ve seen a lot.” He asked taking another swig of his drink and feeling hopeful when both Heather and Finn seemed to relax. It was obvious he was going to listen to them.

“Um, well,” Heather started, glancing to Finn nervously. 

“It was last night.” Finn took over the story, squeezing Heather’s hand again and nodding reassuringly, “We’d gone out for a walk and there was this guy on the corner ahead of us. He,” Finn reached out and took another sip of his drink, pausing for a moment while trying to gather his thoughts, Stiles didn’t want to pressure him or push him so he rested against the back of his chair and took another drink of his own soda, trying to ignore the strange scratchiness at the back of his throat. “I don’t know, he, there was just something about him, the way he was moving, he was acting shifty. I don’t know it just kind of made us suspicious, so we watched him.” 

“Did you get a good look at him?” Stiles asked, picking up his pen and trying not to sound as disappointed as he felt, it sounded like this wouldn’t be what he was looking for, maybe the guy was up to something suspicious, but Stiles was almost certain it wasn’t him that was murdering people, they were looking for some kind of creature, right? 

“Yeah, he was about six-foot, dark hair, stubble, he was wearing a leather jacket and jeans.” Heather rambled and Stiles fought the urge to roll his eyes, brilliant, they’d probably seen Derek acting all suspicious, not what he wanted to hear at all. 

“Did you follow him? See him doing anything out of the ordinary?” Stiles asked. 

“No, he was standing on the corner and we walked past him, he didn’t move out of the way or anything, and, he just made me feel uneasy, like he was glaring at Heather, and not in a friendly way, and then, well, we carried on walking and when we got to the other side of the road I turned back and he was gone, like, he’d just vanished.” Finn continued and Stiles sighed, putting the pen down, Derek doing his freaking disappearing trick meant that Stiles had lost precious research time. 

“Do you think we should tell your dad about it?” Heather asked as Stiles took another drink, feeling more annoyed than anything else. He had really thought he might be on to something here and it was nothing, just a waste of time. 

“Probably not.” He said rubbing his eyes that seemed to have grown heavy during their conversation, “I mean, really, you saw a guy standing on a street corner who looked at you oddly and wasn’t there when you turned back around, he could have walked back the way he’d come and be out of sight, it’s, well, it’s nothing solid and there’s nothing to even suggest he is linked to the murders, it’s suspicious sure, but, maybe more as in the guy has no social skills rather than murderer.” Stiles cleared his throat, surprised by how dry it felt, taking another deep swig of his drink in an effort to clear it. 

“I guess.” Heather agreed, smiling softly and reaching out to put her hand over Stiles’, “Thanks for listening, I figured it would be nothing, but, he just, he really freaked me out.” 

“No worries.” Stiles said, withdrawing his hand slowly, unable to understand why it took so long for his hand to respond or why it felt so heavy and numb, was he coming down with something? He didn’t think so, but, he did feel very tired all of a sudden, his limbs felt sluggish and his vision was going a bit blurry. He tried to stand, offering to show them out when his legs almost collapsed from underneath him, he managed to catch himself on the table to stop himself from falling completely but still, it was like his body was completely out of his control. 

“Stiles? You feeling okay?” Heather asked sounding concerned and he tried to wave her off, tell her it was nothing, but, his vision was swimming and nothing about this felt normal, it didn’t feel like any kind of illness, it felt more like…

“Did you drug me?” He asked, although it came out more slurred than he intended and his arms were shaking as he tried to pull himself upright, fear surging through his bloodstream as he realised that he’d drank the entire drink that was no doubt drugged. Finn was grinning at him, taking a step towards him and Stiles tried to push away from the table, knocking his glass to the ground in the process, hearing it shatter, as he stumbled and then fell to the floor, the room spinning as he tried to get up again. 

“Relax Stiles, it’s okay.” Heather whispered, crouching down next to him and stroking his cheek gently. 

“What did you do?” He spat as angrily as he could manage, he knew it came across as pathetic and weak more than angry, but he couldn’t understand, why had they done this? God, were they going to rob the sheriff’s house? Blame it on him somehow? Or, worse, what if they were the murderers? Were they going to kill him? Oh, Jesus, his dad, how would his dad survive finding Stiles’ body in the preserve? He wouldn’t, couldn’t, god, his dad would blame himself. He couldn’t let that happen, Stiles shoved his hands outwards at Heather, knocking her off balance as he tried again to get to his feet and get away from them. 

A swift kick to the ribs from Finn had him gasping for breath and collapsing to the ground, he couldn’t breathe, this was worse than when Gerard’s goons had beaten him, he genuinely couldn’t breathe, this was more than a broken rib, in fact, he couldn’t be sure but he thought it might be a punctured lung. Finn kicked him again, making Stiles roll onto his back, fighting to keep his eyes open, willing his limbs to surge into action, instead he lay still as Finn punched him hard across the face, tasting blood in his mouth as his lip split open. 

“Don’t push my girlfriend.” Finn growled.

“Finn, come on,” Heather tugged at his arm, “Let’s get him upstairs.” Stiles was pulled to his feet and he tried again to push away from them but his limbs seemed to have lost all their usefulness in the last few minutes and he could do nothing more than sway slightly as he was half carried towards the stairs. 

“What do you want?” He asked, not sure the words were making any sense, but he had to try, had to know, what the hell were they planning? If they wanted to rob the place, then why did they drug him? Why not wait until he was out? If they wanted to kill him then why? If they were the murderers, then why pick him? It wasn’t like he was close to figuring out who they were, hell, he didn’t even know what they were. 

“Shhh, Stiles, it’s okay, it’s all okay.” Heather reassured him as they climbed up the stairs, walking past his dad’s room and getting to Stiles’. They dropped him on the bed and Heather climbed up next to him, stroking his cheek softly and looking at him fondly, Stiles couldn’t believe she’d done this, Finn had to have forced her, the Heather he’d known, she would have never, could have never done something like this, she wouldn’t have drugged him, he trusted her. 

Stiles could feel Finn tugging his shoes off, he tried to move again and Finn hit him again across the temple, hard enough that if his vision had been blurring before it was damn near whiting out now and he knew he let out a grunt of pain, trying to breathe through it, unable to comprehend what was happening, his mind racing, trying to think of all the possibilities, what did they want? Why did they pick him? Were they going to kill him in his own home? All the other murders had taken place outside, near the preserve. Why him? The questions were spinning around in his head but there were no answers until Finn started to unbuckle Stiles’ jeans and Heather’s lips were pressed against his own and Stiles felt cold with terror.

He could do nothing other than lie there as Finn removed Stiles’ jeans, stroking Heather’s hair with his other hand, pushing her lips harder against Stiles’, Stiles was almost certain his heart was going to beat out of his chest, he was terrified, he was more scared now than he had ever been before in his life, including Gerard, because even then, even when he’d taken that beating, he’d never been as helpless as he was now. His body wouldn’t respond and his speech was coming out slurred and confused as he tried to tell them to get off him only to receive soft laughs in reply, Finn leaning down and kissing Heather momentarily before his lips were pressed against Stiles’.

“You are interesting, aren’t you?” Finn cooed as he traced fingers along the scars on Stiles’ stomach, chest and sides, “What happened Stiles? Do you like things rough?” 

“Please.” Stiles pleaded desperately, using all the energy he had, putting everything he had into begging them not to do this, “Don’t.” 

“It’s okay.” Heather repeated and Stiles would have rolled his eyes if he had the energy. “Stiles, relax, you’re going to enjoy this, I promise.” She whispered, stroking his cheek gently as she moved to first nibble on his ear and then suck a mark onto his neck, he felt like he was going to be sick but his body wasn’t responding to him even as he threw everything he had into moving away from her.


	3. Chapter 3

Scott had thought long and hard about what Stiles had said three days ago, he was an omega, a wolf without a pack, he’d betrayed the current Alpha, would have gotten them all killed if his plan hadn’t worked. He didn’t see how Derek could ever forgive him for that, how they’d ever be able to move past it, he couldn’t believe that Derek would ever allow him into his pack, but, Scott knew he had to try, as an omega he wouldn’t survive long on his own. If there was one thing that he’d learned from Gerard it was that. 

He thought it would probably be best if he announced his intentions rather than just turning up so he text Isaac and asked if he was with Derek and if it would be okay for Scott to come over to talk. It took an hour and a half before he got a response, it was just an address but Scott figured that meant yes so he jumped onto his bike and headed across to the address. Fifteen minutes later he was standing in front of an industrial sliding door, a little unsure as to what was waiting on the other side for him, not liking the fact that he could hear at least five heartbeats rather than the one or two he’d been expecting, before, finally he knocked.

Derek opened the door a moment later, glaring at Scott for a moment before he stepped backwards into the loft and allowed Scott to enter. 

“You want to talk?” Derek growled and Scott nodded, taking in the sight of Erica, Boyd, Lydia, Jackson, Isaac and even Peter sitting on the sofa’s nearby, no Stiles though and Scott was a little relieved about that, maybe he was finally butting out of wolf business, although he didn’t know why Lydia was here either. 

“Yeah.” Scott said nervously, clearing his throat and shuffling from foot to foot. 

“Spit it out then.” Jackson said and Scott glared at him. 

“I, um, well, I wanted to apologize, for, you know, working with Gerard and not telling you about my plan.” Scott began unsteadily, “And, also, to ask, if, you’d be willing to have me in the pack?” There was silence in the room as everyone stared at him in amazement and Scott felt he had to give them more of an explanation. “You see, I was talking to Stiles, and we had an argument, not just about what I’d done, but also about how I didn’t think about you guys, how I wanted to protect Allison even if it cost all of you everything. So, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. And I know that me apologising doesn’t really make any difference, that it’s my actions that will show my true intentions, but, like, I don’t know, can you give me a chance to make this right? Please?”

“You’re sorry!?” Erica growled, “You nearly got our Alpha killed, you nearly got all of us killed, and you think because you said sorry that makes it all okay? What, did Stiles say that if you apologised we’d welcome you with open arms?” She scoffed.

“No. Actually he said to throw myself on my knees and beg for mercy. But, I thought he might have been exaggerating, he was angry at me for what I’d done and we had a big argument and I just, I thought he was being dramatic.” 

“Why?” Derek asked, sending a look at his betas to silence them, “Why do you want to join the pack?” Scott stared at him in astonishment, his mouth hanging open for a second before he closed it and cleared his throat.

“Well, because, I learned something from Gerard, and that’s that omegas don’t last long on their own. So, I hoped I could join your pack.”

“You’re not an omega though.” Derek said, ignoring the mention of Gerard and looking at Scott in confusion, “You have Stiles and Allison.” 

“Yeah but they are humans and they don’t count as actual pack.” Scott said simply, shrugging his shoulders, “I mean, I hadn’t really thought about it, but, Stiles and me, we were arguing about him spending time with you guys and I said that humans couldn’t be pack and then Stiles was all like ‘well, then, you’re an omega.’ And yeah, I hadn’t really thought that before, I kind of thought that Allison and Stiles would always be around, but, Allison has gone to France for a couple of months and Stiles hasn’t spoken to me in days and even before our argument he hadn’t been around for weeks, I mean, he’s right, I’m an omega.” 

“Let me just get this straight,” Derek growled, his eyes flashing dangerously, “You told Stiles that he wouldn’t be pack because he was human!?” 

“Um, yes?” Scott said, unsure why Derek looked so pissed. 

“So that’s why he said he wasn’t pack.” Isaac sighed sounding almost relieved and then turning to Derek, effectively shutting Scott out of the conversation, “Derek, he thinks he’s not pack, it’s not that he doesn’t want to be. You need to tell him. Tell him Scott’s a fucking idiot, but, tell him it’s not true, that he is pack.” Isaac said almost desperately.

“But…” Scott started.

“Shut up Scott.” Lydia snapped, “Why do you think I’m here if humans aren’t allowed in the pack?”

“Peter bit you and you didn’t turn so you must be something supernatural.” Scott argued.

“Maybe, but, Stiles isn’t, Stiles is human and he’s the only reason we even have a pack so why don’t you follow his advice and get on your knees and beg for mercy.” Lydia snarled, sounding more like a wolf than any of the others. 

“I don’t…” Scott tried again, unable to understand why they’d have Stiles as member of their pack when he was a human.

“Stiles is part of our pack.” Peter smirked, “And you made him doubt that. You best hope that Derek can convince him to stay with the pack, because if he can’t, well…” Peter trailed off with a shrug of his shoulders, but it didn’t sound hopeful, in fact, it sounded like Derek would tear his throat out. 

“You should go.” Boyd suggested to Derek who glanced at the clock.

“He said he needed a couple of hours, he might have a lead on the murders.” 

“You’ve given him an hour already!” Isaac grumbled, “Just go Derek! This is more important than the murders anyway.” He was practically shoving Derek towards the door before finally Derek’s feet seemed to agree and he ran out of the door without a second glance leaving Scott standing there awkwardly.

“So, I guess I wait for him to come back? Or should I come back another time?” Scott asked, not sure what to do for the best and not liking the way Peter was still smirking at him like he wanted to eat him, why the hell they let Peter in their pack and yet doubted Scott he had no idea. At least Scott had never killed anyone, had never turned anyone against their will and tried to force them into killing their friends. Okay so maybe he betrayed them but if they could forgive Peter surely Scott deserved a chance, right?

“You should leave.” Boyd replied and Erica nodded from next to him, “Derek will call you, once he’s spoken to Stiles.” Scott nodded in agreement, walking as calmly as he could even though no doubt they could all hear his heart racing before he went downstairs and back outside, surprised to see that the sky was darkening above him as the day drew to a close, he hadn’t realised it was getting that late, he would go home and then tomorrow, no matter what Derek said, he’d go and speak to Stiles, try and sort out whatever was going on between them. 

Derek raced across to Stiles’ suddenly desperate to see him and make this right, Stiles had thought Derek didn’t want him in the pack, didn’t think of him as pack, he was an idiot, no, both of them were idiots, Stiles should have known that he was pack and Derek should have made sure he knew. He pulled up to the curb, seeing another car parked in the drive next to Stiles’ jeep and remembering what Stiles said about using the front door as he might have guests, he knocked but there was no answer but he knew Stiles was expecting him so he let himself in. 

The instant he stepped into the hallway he smelt arousal, so thick and heavy that it made it almost impossible for him to smell anything else. He stilled in place, not sure how to proceed, there was no doubt in his mind that whoever had stank the whole room out had done something about it and now Derek didn’t know what he should do, the one thing he’d never expected was to get here and find Stiles having sex with someone. He knew he should turn around, leave and wait in his car, wait until whoever it was had left and Stiles had time to clean himself up, but he couldn’t force his feet to turn around, instead he found himself listening to the frantic beating of Stiles’ heart from upstairs and hating that someone else had obviously got him so excited. 

“I can’t Finn.” Derek heard a female voice said, he hadn’t meant to listen in to their conversation, it had been an accident, he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, taking a step towards the kitchen in attempt to block it out, “I mean, I can’t get him hard, how are we supposed to do this if he’s not even hard?”

“Maybe if I fuck him first?” Another voice said and Derek stilled in his tracks, taking in the smashed glass on the floor of the kitchen, the scent of Stiles’ blood and fear that was stronger in here, overwhelming the arousal in the hallway, and worse, the underlying scent of drugs. 

“Don’t.” Stiles whimpered, sounding so small and terrified and weak that Derek was sprinting up the stairs before he’d fully processed what was happening, running down the hallway and slamming Stiles’ bedroom door open, his eyes flashing red and his fangs bared as his looked at the scene in front of him. 

Stiles was lying on the bed, completely naked, two people, a young couple, also naked, draped over him, sitting up in surprise as Derek barged in, staring at his fangs in terror. Stiles had blood across his face and a bruise forming at his temple, not to mention a large bruise on his side and more bruises on his neck and chest that looked like hickeys, judging by the laboured breathing Derek wouldn’t be surprised if he had a punctured lung, his legs had been pulled apart and Derek could see blood spotting the sheets under his ass. He surged forwards, pulling the couple up and away from Stiles, throwing them backwards against the wall hard enough to know that they wouldn’t be moving any time soon before he moved to Stiles, reaching out a hand to check he was okay. 

“Stiles? Stiles are you alright? Can you hear me?” Derek said, feeling more terrified than he’d ever felt before, god, if they’d…what if they’d already…no, no, he couldn’t think about it, not yet, he had to focus on Stiles.

“Der…” Stiles muttered, his voice sounding slurred but the relief there was evident for them both to hear. 

“Yeah, I’m here Stiles, it’s okay, you’re okay, I’ve got you, nothing’s going to happen to you, you’re safe.” Derek reassured him as he looked around, scooping the pair of Stiles’ boxers up from the floor and sliding them up his legs, covering Stiles, or at least giving him some resemblance of privacy before he rounded on the couple who were getting to their feet across the room. 

“What the fuck are you!?” The boy, Finn he recalled, shouted, Derek glared at him, the wolf inside telling him to tear them apart, tear them limb from limb, make them scream in agony before he put them out of their misery. 

“Can’t…breathe.” Stiles muttered from behind him and Derek snarled at the pair in front of him before he turned back to Stiles wrapping the sheets around him and lifting him into his arms. 

“Get dressed.” Derek snarled at them as he struggled to get his claws and fangs under control, knowing it would be better to kill them now, but Stiles’ breathing was getting worse and he seemed to be struggling to stay awake, the hospital would need to know what drugs he’d been given which meant he had to keep them alive, for now at least. Both of them threw their clothes on quickly as Derek held Stiles, studying him for other signs of pain, he’d seen the scars on his stomach and sides, he’d have to find out what had caused them, what had happened to him because Derek didn’t remember any injuries that could have caused them and they looked recent, as in the last month or so, not old scars that had faded but only recently healed scars still red and sore looking, but it wasn’t his priority right now. 

He marched them out of the house, grabbing Stiles’ phone on the way, glaring at them until they got into the back seat of the camaro, he placed Stiles gently into the front seat and hurried around to the other side, resting a hand on his arm to start draining the pain and smiling ferally when he met the gaze of Finn in the rear view mirror, his eyes flashing red in warning. 

They were half way to the hospital when Derek let go of Stiles’ arm, after having drained as much pain as he possibly could if he wanted to make it there without passing out, then pulled out Stiles’ phone and called his dad who thankfully answered on the sixth ring. 

“What Stiles?” Noah asked impatiently.

“It’s Derek Hale.” Derek replied and he could almost feel the confusion coming from Noah.

“And why do you have my son’s phone Derek?” Noah asked suspiciously.

“Where are you?” 

“I’m just leaving the morgue.” Noah replied honestly. 

“At the hospital?”

“Yeah.” 

“Stay there. I’m coming to you, have you got any deputies with you?”

“Yeah, two, why?” Noah asked in confusion.

“I’ll tell you when I get there.” He glanced across at the now unconscious Stiles, he wouldn’t want his dad to hear about this over the phone, he’d want him to know in person, see that Stiles was still alive and breathing when he found out about this. In all honesty, Derek was pretty sure that Stiles wouldn’t want his dad knowing about this at all but Derek had had enough, he didn’t care about protecting Noah, well, no, that wasn’t true, he did, but Noah was an adult who was capable of making his own decisions, Stiles was a teenager who had got mixed up in the supernatural and who had just been assaulted at the very least, Derek wasn’t keeping this from Noah. 

He pulled up to the hospital, dumping the car in the nearest space and seeing Noah and his deputies approaching the rear of the vehicle in caution, unable to see Stiles in the front seat and wondering what the hell was going on as Derek flung himself out of the driver’s door and opened the back door, manhandling out two teenagers and almost throwing them to the floor.

“Derek? Care to tell me what on earth is going on here?” Noah asked, staring at the young couple who were looking terrified, he paused, “Heather? Are you okay? What’s going on?” 

“They…” Derek growled, swallowing heavily, he couldn’t get the words out, he would wolf out if he tried to say anymore instead he moved to the passenger door, shifting Stiles into his arms gently, worried about causing him any more damage. 

“Derek, you’re going to have to give me more to go on her…” Noah’s voice trailed off as he saw Stiles lying unconscious in Derek’s arms, “Stiles!” He cried in shock, rushing towards them and running a hand through his hair, studying the visible bruises on his face, “Stiles? Kiddo? Can you hear me? What’s wrong with him? What’s happened?” Noah asked Derek, Derek couldn’t explain, not now, Stiles’ lips were turning blue, a sure sign of oxygen deprivation, he needed medical attention now. 

“He’s been drugged.” He growled, “You need to arrest them and I need to get him inside.” Derek grunted, moving towards the main entrance as Noah raced after him. 

“What do you mean drugged? Why would anyone drug him? Who would drug him? Heather? You expect me to believe that Heather drugged Stiles? Impossible, they’ve known each other for years.” Noah rambled and Derek rounded on him, glaring at Finn and Heather who were being held loosely by the deputies who were obviously just as confused by the situation.

“What I know is that I went over to talk to Stiles and instead I find those two all over him, Heather there complaining that she couldn’t get him hard and Finn suggesting that he should fuck him first and that would probably work and Stiles begging them not to, so, you can believe whatever the fuck you want, but right now Stiles needs help and if you don’t have them locked up, fine, I’ll take a lot of pleasure in hunting them down and gutting them myself.” Derek snarled, feeling a sick sense of satisfaction when Finn literally wet his pants in terror. Noah stared at Derek for a moment his face blank, before he looked down at Stiles and his eyes went hard turning to his deputies.

“Arrest them. I’ll come and take their statements once I know Stiles is okay.” He growled, dismissing his deputies and moving ahead of Derek to get help from the nurses, Derek couldn’t help but feel relieved that Noah had believed him. They rushed into the hospital, Noah shouting for assistance, there was a flurry of activity as a bed was wheeled out and Derek lowered Stiles gently onto the bed, being pushed backwards as a handful of nurses started sticking him with wires and needles and shouting out statistics and Derek watched helplessly. 

He saw one of the nurses start to inject Stiles with something and he moved forward, grabbing her hand and stopping her from finishing the dose. 

“What are you doing?” He growled, doing his best to keep his wolf under control.

“Remove your hand now or I’ll call security.” The nurse replied angrily, trying to pull out of his grip and continue the injection, Derek just glared at him.

“What are you giving him?” Derek snarled, ignoring Noah’s hand on his shoulder that was silently telling him to leave it, that they knew what they were doing.

“We know what we’re doing. Now, back away or I’ll be forced to call security and ask you to leave.” The nurse replied sourly and Derek clenched his free hand in an effort to keep himself under control.

“He’s been drugged. He’s been drugged and we don’t know what they gave him and you can’t give him anything else until we know what kind of side effects it could have.” Derek argued and the nurse tried to brush him off again.

“I know what I’m doing.” She snapped.

“Derek, come on son, Stiles is in capable hands.” Noah said, trying to steer him away towards the nearby chairs as the bed was wheeled into the nearest available room and Derek allowed his hand to drop from the nurses’, watching as she finished the rest of the injection and they steered Stiles into the room and Noah sat them down on the seats, both of their eyes glued to the door that Stiles had disappeared through. Within a minute there were shouts from the room and somebody calling for a crash cart and Derek was up on his feet, Noah hot on his heels.

Stiles was lay on the bed, they’d pulled back the sheets so that he was lying in his boxers, his skin too pale, the bruise on his side obvious for them all to see, the bruise on his temple looking awful, various other bruises scattered over his neck and chest, they’d put an oxygen mask over his mouth but there was no sign of any air being sucked in, Noah was staring in horror at his son who was lying motionless, Derek couldn’t move, Stiles’ heart wasn’t beating. 

He moved forward as if in a trance as the nurses moved around him still shouting out instructions, Stiles couldn’t be dead, he couldn’t die. One of the nurses shouted for everyone to clear back and Stiles’ back arched up from the bed, Derek heard his heart start up again a moment before it registered on the machine and relaxed in relief. 

“Stiles? Oh god, Stiles.” Noah sobbed, rushing over and cradling his son’s head delicately, “Can you hear me kiddo? I’m here, I’m right here.” 

“Okay, his heart rate has stabilised.” One of the nurses called out.

“Alright, we need to re-inflate his lung quickly.” The nurse that Derek had argued with earlier replied, picking up a scalpel and moving towards Stiles.

“What? He hasn’t had any anaesthetic yet. We need to give him a painkiller.” The first nurse called out.

“We can’t, he’s already had a bad reaction to the adrenaline, until we know what’s running through his system we can’t give him anything else. Now, we need space, clear the room.” She replied while Derek just stared at her like she’d lost her mind. Noah moved them back to the nearest wall but shook his head firmly, they were not leaving the room. “Fine.” The nurse scowled, turning to Stiles and concentrating on the task at hand. 

Derek watched her make a small cut on Stiles’ side and smelt the sudden pain from Stiles and that was enough to drive him forwards, grabbing her hand and pulling the scalpel away from Stiles.

“No.” He snarled, knowing his eyes were probably more red than usual without going full Alpha. “Get me Melissa McCall. Now.” He turned to the other nurse who nodded quickly and dashed out of the room. 

“Let go of me before I call security.” The nurse snapped but Derek refused to let go of her wrist, gripping hard enough to hold her in place but not enough to leave bruises even if she deserved it. 

“Please feel free to call them.” Derek snarled angrily, “I’m sure as hell going to be making a complaint, you gave adrenaline to a person who had been drugged, I told you that, I told you that we didn’t know what he’d been given and the adrenaline caused strain to his heart and nearly killed him.” Noah stared at him in shock before rounding on the nurse.

“WHAT!?”

“You can’t prove that.” The nurse replied. 

“Maybe not but I can prove that you tried to operate on him without anaesthetic, I don’t know if you did it maliciously or just sheer incompetence but if you don’t get out of this room right this second I will kill you for daring to hurt him unnecessarily.” Derek growled, not caring that his eyes had gone completely red as the nurse almost ran from the room, her eyes wide with terror. 

“Alright,” Melissa’s voice came from just outside the door, “Care to tell me why I’ve been called here so urgen…Stiles!” She cried, rushing forward and taking in Stiles’ motionlessness. “What the hell is going on here!?” She said looking from Derek to Noah. 

“He’s got a punctured lung, I need you to re-inflate it, he’s been drugged so you can’t give him any painkillers but he can still feel pain, he’s aware on some level because when your colleague tried to cut him I smelled the pain he was in.” Derek said firmly.

“You smelled it!?” Noah asked incredulously.

“I’ll explain everything sir, I’ll tell you everything, I promise, but not now. Melissa, I need you to help him.” Derek practically pleaded as Melissa glanced again at Noah before marching to the door and shutting it closed. 

“You’ll have to drain the pain and, trust me, it’s going to hurt.” Melissa scolded, pulling out fresh sterilised equipment and setting it up on the tray, moving around to Stiles’ side and examining the injury. 

“What the hell do you mean ‘drain the pain’?” Noah stuttered, confused as to why Melissa seemed to understand what was going on, and since when had Stiles and Derek Hale been friends? At least? The way Derek was looking at Stiles made Noah think there was definitely more to that relationship, is that what Stiles had been hiding from him? That he was secretly dating Derek? Did Stiles think his dad would love him any less if he told him he was gay!? What the hell kind of father was he that his son couldn’t tell him that? Was afraid to tell him that? God, he was a terrible father, he’d have to make it up to him.

“Not now Noah, we’ll explain, we’ll both explain, later but for now I need you to shut up and let me concentrate.” Melissa replied, before turning to Derek, “Ready?” Derek nodded firmly, reaching down and touching Stiles’ shoulder, Noah could only watch in shock as black lines started running up Derek’s arm from where he touched Stiles and when Melissa went to work a moment later Derek actually arched backwards as if he was in pain, gritting his teeth, his eyes squeezed tightly shut and a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. 

Melissa worked in silence for a few minutes as Derek continued to stand against the wall looking more pained by the second, looking so pale under his normal tan that Noah thought he might be about to be sick and all the time the black lines were running up his arms. 

“Noah, get Derek a chair, now.” Melissa said quickly, not breaking concentration on the task at hand as Noah moved forwards, grabbing a chair so that Derek could sit down, barely getting it in place before Derek collapsed in to it but still refused to remove his hand from Stiles’ shoulder. “We’re nearly there Derek, just a little longer.” Melissa said almost reassuringly and she moved a tube into place and Noah could only stare at the two of them and try and figure out what the hell was going on. Why did Melissa know about Stiles and Derek but he didn’t? Surely Melissa would have told Stiles that Noah would love him no matter what? That whoever he chose to love, Noah wouldn’t care, so long as they treated him right.

There was another few minutes of silence as Melissa slid the tube into Stiles’ side, pressed her stethoscope against his chest and sighed in relief before taping it into place and turning to assess his other injuries. 

“Derek, can you tell me what else happened? Any other injuries besides the head and lung? Spinal injuries? Was he thrown? Did he hit anything?” She asked, shining a light into Stiles’ eyes and sighing when they were unresponsive. 

“They, they drugged him.” Derek said, even his voice sounded pained and Noah stared at him, could see the beads of sweat at his temples. 

“Drugged him? That’s not the usual course of action.” Melissa said sounding confused.

“It wasn’t, they weren’t, they were kids, normal human kids who Stiles knew and they drugged his drink and they...” Derek’s voice trailed off as if he couldn’t even bear to say it, Melissa was looking to Noah, whose face was set in a scowl, and then to Stiles again, suddenly taking in the lack of clothing in a new light. 

“Did they?” She didn’t need to finish the sentence, it was obvious what she was asking.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.” Derek answered honestly, “But, there was, he was bleeding, at least a little, it was on the bed.” Noah sucked in a sharp breath and Melissa did her best to stay as professional as possible. 

“Alright, but you don’t think there was any penetrative sex?” She asked and Derek shook his head. 

“I don’t think so, it didn’t smell like it.” 

“Okay, okay that’s good, but, if there was bleeding, I’ll need to take a look, make sure there’s no internal damage.” She said softly, hating that they even had to discuss this. “How about the two of you go outside and I’ll examine him?” She suggested.

“No. I’m staying here.” Noah said firmly, he was not letting his son out of his sight, not now, not ever again. 

“No. He’s still in pain.” Derek said just as firmly at almost the exact same moment. 

“Okay.” Melissa said uncertainly before asking Noah to move to the top of the bed, at least give the unconscious Stiles some semblance of privacy. She examined him as quickly and thoroughly as she could, she had to be certain but she wanted to get this over with as quickly as she could. Eventually she slid the boxers back into place and pulled the sheets up covering his legs and most of his chest, leaving the tube exposed for easy access.

“Well?” Noah asked impatiently, looking ready to murder someone, well, probably somebody in particular.

“There’s some tearing, but it doesn’t look to be from penetrative sex, I would need to confirm with Stiles, but judging from the fingernail marks nearby, I’d say it was attempted, but not carried out.” Melissa said as delicately as she could, not really surprised when Derek let out a rumble from the top of the bed. “I assume you know who’s responsible for this?” She asked and he nodded tightly. “You’re going to kill them?” 

“No. They’re with the deputies.” Derek replied.

“I’m going to fucking kill them.” Noah snarled through gritted teeth, he’d never felt so helpless and so angry in his entire life, well, other than with Claudia, but this, this should never had happened, would have never happened if he’d been there, if he’d agreed to talk to Stiles, meet him for dinner, but, no, he’d left him home alone for days at a time and god, if it wasn’t for Derek, if Derek hadn’t turned up when he had, Jesus, it didn’t even bare thinking about. Derek opened his eyes for the first time since he’d touched Stiles and Noah felt his breath catch because Derek’s eyes were glowing a bright red. Melissa noticed the astonishment on Noah’s face and sighed heavily, setting down her equipment and looking at Derek wearily. 

“Alright, first off, Derek, enough. He’ll be fine. Stop.” Melissa said, moving towards Derek and stilling when Derek growled at her, an actual growl, Noah couldn’t help the fact that his hand moved towards the gun at his hip, it was instinct. “Enough Derek.” She scolded like he was some kind of misbehaving puppy, “Noah, sit down and we’ll tell you what’s been going on.” Melissa rolled her eyes when Derek refused to let go of Stiles’ shoulder, instead pulling up a stool from the corner of the room and sitting down next to him.

“I don’t understand two things, one, why the hell Stiles thought he had to keep it a secret that you two are dating? and two, what the hell you are taking?” Noah said simply, startling both Melissa and Derek.

“We’re not dating.” Derek said, blushing slightly as he glanced down at where his hand was still against Stiles’ skin. “I’m just drawing his pain. That’s all.” 

“Yeah, which means what exactly?” Noah asked agitated, “And what is with the eyes? Are you on drugs? Is that why Stiles wouldn’t tell me? Didn’t want me to know about his older boyfriend who’s also on drugs? Have you been supplying to him? Is this what he’s keeping from me? Did you get my son hooked on drugs?” He asked angrily, having no issue with shooting Derek if it meant protecting Stiles.

“Noah,” Melissa said soothingly, “Sit down, take a breath, let me explain.” Noah looked at her, studying her for a moment before he sat back down in his chair, “Now, do you honestly think that if Derek was supplying anyone with drugs that I would be okay with it?” Noah sighed, she made sense, but what else could it be? “Derek, can you shift please? It’ll make things simpler.” 

Noah looked across at Derek, wondering what the hell Melissa meant when suddenly Derek’s face contorted, he had fangs, full on fangs and his eyes were glowing red and there were claws on his hands, claws that were pressed against Stiles’ skin, that looked deadly against his sons’ pale skin, Noah did go for his gun this time. 

“What the fuck!?” He shouted jumping out of his chair and levelling the gun at Derek’s chest as the man in front of him shifted back to look like a human.

“Wouldn’t do much good. Unless you’ve got wolfsbane bullets in the chamber.” Derek said, his voice still sounding tight as the black lines continued up his arm. 

“Wolfsbane!?” Noah queried, pausing as he thought back to the old wife’s tales his mother used to tell him when he was younger, usually when she was trying to distract him from whatever nightmare his father had created for them that week, “Like werewolves?” He asked and it was Melissa and Derek’s turn to look at him in astonishment, “Oh my god, like werewolves, exactly like werewolves, you’re a freaking werewolf!?” 

“Well, that was easier than I thought.” Melissa scoffed.

“You’re kidding, right? Werewolves aren’t real, they’re not, they don’t exist.” Noah argued in shock.

“You’ve just seen the evidence for yourself.” Melissa argued, “Listen, I’ll explain everything to you, or, as best I can, sometimes Scott leaves out the important stuff.”

“Scott is involved in this!? Is he… is he one of them?” 

“Yeah.” Melissa sighed, “Look, do you remember the night before school started back last year? You were out in the woods, looking for a body?” She glanced nervously at Derek as she said this but Derek only nodded that it was fine. 

“Yeah, Stiles was out there.” Noah confirmed.

“Yeah, well, so was Scott. There was a werewolf out there too, an Alpha, the Alpha is the only one that can turn humans into werewolves, he bit Scott.” 

“So Scott, he’s a werewolf? And Stiles? Is he, you know?” 

“No, Stiles is human.” Derek confirmed. “He’s been helping us, first it was Scott, he was newly bitten, he didn’t know what he was doing, he was going to get himself killed or kill someone else, Stiles helped him, taught him how to control his wolf. Then we worked together, sort of, mainly Stiles and I worked together and Scott made puppy eyes at Allison.” Derek glanced apologetically at Melissa who only nodded in agreement. 

“The Alpha, the one who bit Scott, it was my Uncle Peter, the fire had messed with him, made him crazy, and, well, he was determined to have revenge on anyone who was involved, we didn’t know who it was at first and then when we did, well, we came up with a plan and I killed him. Stiles had found a story about if you kill the werewolf who bit you then you would become human again, we didn’t know if it was true, but I did know that if you kill an Alpha then you get their Alpha status. I couldn’t risk Scott killing Peter and becoming an Alpha instead of a human, he would have gone crazy, he was still so new to this whole thing.” 

“So you killed your uncle?” Noah clarified, “And Stiles helped you?” 

“Yes. But he was only dead for a little while, he’s actually alive again now with a little help from Lydia. None of us really understand how he did it, he’s explained it to Lydia, but she has said she doesn’t want to discuss it with any of us yet, but she will do, when she’s ready.”

“Is Lydia a werewolf too?”

“No. She’s, well, we’re not quite sure, but she’s something.” Derek replied.

“So, Stiles, he isn’t doing drugs? Or dealing guns? Or whatever? He’s just involved with werewolves? That’s all there is to it? That’s what he’s been keeping from me?” 

“Yes.” Derek admitted, “He didn’t want you to know.” He looked up at Noah’s expression and frowned, “He’s been trying to protect you. This world, it’s dangerous, he doesn’t want you involved, he doesn’t want you in danger.”

“But it’s okay for him to be throwing himself into danger? It’s okay for him to be running around with werewolves? If one of you lost control you could kill him without a second thought with those claws. You think that’s acceptable but me knowing isn’t?” 

“Actually, I’ve told him he should tell you, several times, but, Stiles is, well, he’s just as terrifying if not more terrifying than my wolves sometimes. When I told him that I was going to tell you when the kanima was running around, well, he pulled a knife on me and told me he’d kill me before he let me put you in danger like that.” Derek confessed, it wasn’t something that he’d ever told anyone before, that Stiles had challenged Derek’s authority, that Derek had been impressed with Stiles’ stubbornness and force of will and it had silenced Derek.

“A knife? If a bullet supposedly can’t hurt you, why would a knife do it?” Noah asked.

“Werewolves heal fast, they can also take pain from others which is what Derek’s doing now, they also have heightened senses, better sense of smell, hearing, eyesight, they can run faster than any human could ever manage, they are stronger than you could imagine, and they can shift on demand, not just on the full moon.” Melissa explained, “But they do have weaknesses, you can trap them with mountain ash or poison them with wolfsbane or mistletoe, I’m assuming Stiles’ knife had wolfsbane on it?”

“Yeah, he’d kind of used it to threaten Erica earlier and…”

“What? Why?” Noah asked quickly.

“Alright, look, I know you have a lot of questions but, if I’m honest, Stiles can probably answer them better than I can, but, the things you need to know, the vital bits of information, one, I’m the Alpha, two, Peter, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd, Isaac Lahey, Jackson Whittemore, Lydia and most importantly Stiles are all in my pack…”

“What about Scott?” Noah interrupted.

“Scott, well, I don’t know, he said he wanted to be, wanted to work together, except then he was working with Gerard to protect his mom and Allison and he nearly got the rest of us killed.” Derek explained.

“He what!?” Melissa snapped angrily and Derek sighed, he was exhausted from the pain and this was not a simple story to tell. 

“Okay so the Argents are hunters,” Noah looked ready to interrupt and Derek shook his head, “Yes Scott is dating Allison, yes she knows he’s a werewolf and he knows she’s a hunter. Kate Argent was the one responsible for burning my home down with my family inside. She, I was involved with her, thought I was in love with her, and she tricked me into telling her everything about my family and then she killed them. I still don’t know why she waited until Laura and I weren’t there but she did, maybe so she could make me feel the guilt of knowing I killed my whole family, I don’t know. Anyway, Peter killed her, right before Stiles set him on fire and I finished the job. Gerard Argent came to avenge his daughter, he became the principle and threatened the pack. During all this there was a kanima running around, it has paralytic toxins and it was being controlled by its master, originally this was Matt but Gerard took over as the master when he killed Matt. He then used the kanima to threaten Melissa, who had only just found out about all this by the way, and Scott pretended to join the pack, informing Gerard of our every move.” Derek took a breath, glancing at Noah to make sure he was still following everything. 

“Jackson was the kanima, when he turned he didn’t know what happened, he lost huge amounts of time, he was dangerous and he was killing people which is why Stiles kidnapped him and trapped him in the police van in an attempt to get him to realise what was going on. Scott and Allison were supposed to be watching him but they, well, let’s say they got distracted and Jackson got out and then he pressed charges and you lost your job and Stiles felt so fucking bad about it, I could smell how guilty he felt but he still wouldn’t tell you because he didn’t want you to be in danger. Then the night of the lacrosse game Gerard forced Jackson to kill himself because he’d come back stronger and even more deadly. When we met up at the warehouse Scott betrayed us, Gerard used the kanima to paralyze me and then Scott used me to bite Gerard.” 

“You mean Gerard turned!?” Melissa said in shock looking betrayed by her son’s actions. 

“No. Not completely, Scott had dosed his pills with mountain ash, the bite took but it also didn’t, he’s not completely human but he’s not a full wolf either, then he ordered the kanima to attack us but Lydia, Stiles, Erica and Boyd arrived in time. Lydia manged to get Jackson to remember who he was and I managed to turn him into a full wolf. Stiles said he got into some trouble with the other team and he was going home to rest, we didn’t see him for a few weeks but then we found the bodies in the woods.”

“The ones with the holes in their chests.” Noah realised, “You think it’s something supernatural?” 

“Yes. It smells like it, but, I don’t know the scent, I’ve never smelled it before. Stiles has been working on figuring out what it is, I spoke to him earlier and he said he might have a lead and he’d call me when he knew for definite. I went over early because Scott turned up at the loft saying he wanted to join the pack because Stiles and him had had an argument, where he told Stiles that humans couldn’t be pack and Stiles told him that it made Scott an omega. I wanted to explain to Stiles that he was pack, is pack, would always be pack, and instead, when I got there, I, I smelled…” He took a deep breath, concentrating on the steady beating of Stiles’ heart that meant he was here and safe, “The house stank of arousal and at first I thought, I thought it was mutual, you know, and then I went in the kitchen and I could hear Heather talking and there was a glass smashed on the floor and I could smell Stiles’ fear and blood and then I caught the scent of drugs and I heard Heather saying she couldn’t get him hard and heard Stiles say no and I just, I ran up there and I pulled them off him and,” Derek felt a wave of guilt and fear and relief almost overwhelm me, struggling to fight back the tears and focus on Stiles’ heartbeat, he was here, he was safe, “He knew I was there, sounded so fucking relieved that I was there, and then he said he couldn’t breathe and I just, I brought him here.” 

“You did a good job Derek.” Melissa said, resting her hand lightly on his arm, “You did the right thing, you got Stiles the help he needed.”

“Yeah and then I let that nurse give him a fucking injection of adrenaline and he flatlined and I could have lost…” He paused, realising how stupid it sounded and refusing to meet either of his elder’s gaze as he blushed, “I could have stopped it. I shouldn’t have let her.” 

“Don’t worry about that now, I’ll make sure she’s dealt with.” Melissa scowled, “You’ve done everything you can to help Stiles, it’s important you rest, why don’t you go home and get some sleep?” 

“No.” Derek said fearfully, he couldn’t leave Stiles, not now, not until he knew he was safe.

“Honey, he’s going to be out of it for a while, we don’t know what drugs they gave him and we don’t know how long they’ll last, if you want to go home and get some sleep then I’ll call you when he wakes up?” 

“No, I, I can’t.” Derek said, glancing up and looking at Noah, “Please, I need to stay.” 

“Tell me again that you’re not dating my son?” Noah asked and Derek frowned.

“We’re not dating.” He answered honestly.

“But you’re in love with him?” Noah asked and Derek blushed, the heat in his cheeks answering Noah’s question instantly. “And how does he feel about you?” 

“I’m not sure Sir, I hope, maybe, that he might eventually look at me like that. But, I don’t know and I’m not going to push or pressure him or anything like that.” Derek answered as honestly as he could.

“This is a lot to take in and I do have a lot more questions, if you’re going to stay I’m going to want answers?”

“Okay.” Derek nodded, he’d do whatever it took to make sure that he stayed with Stiles, draining his pain, making sure that nothing else happened to him. 

“Melissa, why don’t you go finish your shift or head off home? It seems that you have some things to discuss with Scott?” 

“Yeah, it seems I do. I thought now that I was in the know he’d actually tell me things but apparently not.” She sighed, getting to her feet and giving Stiles’ hair a soft ruffle before she moved to the door and left them to it. 

The night was indeed filled with questions, the only thing neither of them could explain were the scars on Stiles’ chest, they both seemed to agree they must have been caused around the night of the lacrosse game but it made no sense, because surely Stiles couldn’t have hidden those injuries from both of them. Somewhere around two in the morning Derek relaxed when Stiles finally wasn’t in pain anymore, he hoped it meant that the drugs were wearing off and Stiles had slipped into some form of a sleep instead but he didn’t know for sure. All he did know was that Stiles’ heart was still beating steadily in his chest and that was all that mattered. Even when he stopped drawing the pain he kept his hand on Stiles’ shoulder because he needed the contact to convince himself that Stiles was safe, if Noah noticed he didn’t say anything, instead continuing on a line of questioning that was making Derek’s head ache.


	4. Chapter 4

He woke to the sound of Stiles’ heart rate increasing, he didn’t remember falling asleep but he must have done, glancing across the bed he saw Noah’s chin resting on his chest and smiled softly, they’d actually had a really long conversation last night, sure there had been a lot of questions but there had also been words of comfort, from both of them, not just that it wasn’t Derek’s fault about his family, but that of course Stiles wouldn’t be mad at Noah for saying his mother would be disappointed in him. He glanced at Stiles, it looked like he was starting to stir and as much as he wanted a moment alone with Stiles he knew Noah needed to talk to him just as badly. 

“Noah.” Derek whispered, reaching out across the bed to shake Noah’s shoulder, the man jerked upright, looking at Derek with wide eyes before he turned his attention to Stiles, thanking Derek silently as he reached out and touched Stiles’ arm. 

“Stiles? Kiddo? Can you hear me?” Noah whispered quietly, watching as Stiles’ eyes opened slightly, Stiles blinked a few times as if he was trying to focus on his surroundings before he finally took in the sight of Noah hovering nervously above his bed and Derek just behind him. 

“Wh’t happ’ed?” He slurred through the oxygen mask, his head ached and he was confused and tired, he tried to move slightly and winced as pain shot through him, Derek was there in an instant, draining the pain from him, making sure he didn’t suffer any more than was absolutely necessary. They were silent for a moment as Stiles looked from Derek’s arm where the black veins were running up towards his shoulder across to his dad who he prayed hadn’t noticed. He shrugged out of Derek’s grip as quickly as he could, staring at him with wide panicked eyes, he couldn’t believe Derek had just done that in front of his dad. 

“Stiles, how are you feeling?” Noah asked, reaching out and gripping his hand tightly, stroking his hair with the other one, “Do you remember what happened?” Stiles glanced again to Derek who was glaring at the floor as if it personally offended him, he nodded slowly, hating the fact that it made his head throb, Derek clenched his jaw no doubt annoyed by the pain he could smell radiating from Stiles, if Stiles had been a wolf he would be healed by now and Derek wouldn’t be wasting his time in a hospital room waiting for Stiles to recover. Stiles reached up and pulled the oxygen mask off his mouth, ignoring the throb of pain in his side. Derek tried not to be hurt by how Stiles had jerked out of his touch, he had no right to touch Stiles, they were nothing to each other, not really, he shouldn’t be upset that Stiles didn’t want him to touch him.

“Are they…?” He trailed off, surprised by how weak his voice sounded, glancing gratefully at his dad when he handed him a glass of water and he took a small sip. “What happened to them?” He asked, taking another quick glance at Derek, obviously wanting to know if he killed them or not, Derek glanced at the bruise that covered most of the side of Stiles’ face and his split lip and fought the urge to go down to the station and make sure they were dead.

“I didn’t kill them. They’re at the station.” Derek growled and Stiles looked at him scandalized.

“I didn’t think you were going to kill them or anything like that, don’t be ridiculous.” He said looking nervously at his dad. 

“Stiles,” Noah sighed, “I know.”

“Know?” Stiles asked in confusion, taking another gulp of oxygen from the mask as his side flared in pain. 

“I know, everything, about werewolves, about Scott and Derek, about all of it.” 

“What!?” Stiles spluttered in shock, flailing slightly and then stilling the moment his injuries made themselves known. “You told him!?” He glared at Derek who only shrugged.

“I had to. You were drugged Stiles and the nurses gave you adrenaline and it stopped your heart and you were freaking dying and you couldn’t have painkillers so, yeah, I told him. You can hate me if you want, but I had to, it was a case of him knowing or you dying.” Derek said angrily, he didn’t want Stiles to be mad at him, but he hadn’t had a choice, Noah had to know, and Stiles, well, Stiles would just have to hate him. 

“Alright, fine, get your ass back here and drain some more pain then please.” Stiles sighed sounding exhausted, Derek smiled at the floor, feeling immense relief, Stiles had pushed him away because he thought his dad didn’t know, not because he didn’t want Derek to help him. He was back there in an instant and Stiles sighed in relief, relaxing into the bed when Derek started draining the pain again, he sat down in the seat he had been previously occupying and kept his hand on Stiles’ shoulder until the pain began to diminish. 

“I should get a doctor to come check on you, then we can continue this conversation.” Noah said, going out of the door and shutting it gently behind him.

“I’m sorry…” Derek began.

“Thank you…” Stiles said at the same time and they both paused and looked at each other before Stiles let out a long sigh, “Derek, man, thank you, I mean, if you hadn’t turned up…” Stiles trailed off and Derek gripped his shoulder a little tighter as Stiles’ chest heaved in panic, no doubt imagining what could have happened.

“Hey, listen to me, it’s okay, you’re okay.” Derek reassured him just as the door opened again and Noah and Melissa came in, taking in the scene and Melissa rushing forward to him, pushing the oxygen mask back into place and almost pushing Derek out of the way.

“Stiles, focus on my voice, breathe in, hold it, two, three, four, and out, that’s it, and again, you’re doing great sweetie, hold it, three, four, and out.” Melissa coached as Stiles started to get his breathing under control, repeating it for a few minutes until Melissa asked if he was okay and Stiles nodded at her, blinking back tears and still taking deep breaths through the oxygen mask. “Okay Stiles, I’m going to run some tests, just check your bloodwork and check your injuries, is that okay?”

“Does…Does Scott know?” He asked almost nervously and Melissa shook her head slowly.

“Of course not sweetie, if you want to tell him then you can do, but, it’s up to you. I promise I won’t tell him. Now, are you okay with me checking you over?”

“I’m totally fine.” Stiles replied even as his voice was scratchy from the panic attack.

“You are totally not.” Melissa replied fondly, “You’ve got a punctured lung and three broken ribs, a concussion that you are going to be feeling for a few days, no doubt leading to confusion and nausea, not to mention you’ve also got…” Melissa hesitated, pausing for a moment before taking a deep breath, “Tearing.” She swallowed and Stiles tensed, looking at Derek and his dad with wide eyes. 

“It’s okay Stiles, we know.” Noah whispered, putting a hand over Stiles, “It’s okay.” Stiles looked on the verge of tears again and it took everything Noah had not to go to the station and tear those little fuckers apart. “Look, why don’t we talk, talk about what happened while Melissa checks you over? Does that sound okay?” Stiles looked like it was the last thing he wanted to do but he nodded anyway. 

“Do you want some privacy? I can come back if you’d prefer?” Melissa asked but Stiles shook his head.

“It’s fine.” He muttered, even though he knew he didn’t want to talk about it, he knew Melissa would be worrying about him and he had to show her he was fine. Derek didn’t even offer to leave and Stiles wasn’t sure what to think about that but he couldn’t bring himself to ask Derek to leave, there was a part of him, bigger than he’d like to admit, that needed the Alpha there, needed his Alpha there.

“Alright, so, you invited them over for a drink?” Noah asked, trying to sound as professional as he could, that this was another case and not his son, he was going to make sure they rotted in hell for as long as possible. 

“No.” Stiles replied, noticing the confusion on his dad’s face and then glancing to Derek almost guiltily. “I’d been looking into the, the case, the bodies.” He stammered, Noah nodded reassuringly, nodding at him to continue, “I wasn’t getting anywhere, there just wasn’t enough to go on,” He took a deep breath, “Heather called me, she said she’d seen something, something related to the murders but she wasn’t sure if it was just going to be wasting your time and if she told me then maybe I could say if it was something worth telling you about. I told her I’d come meet her in town but she said she wanted it to be private, she didn’t want anyone to overhear her. I said to come over. She asked if you were home, if you’d be home anytime soon, and, god, I was so fucking stupid, I told her that you hadn’t been home in a few days, that you were swamped with the case and wouldn’t be home anytime soon.” Stiles berated himself, hindsight was a wonderful thing, god, how could he be so fucking stupid!? 

“Stiles, hey, you didn’t know.” Noah replied, cursing internally, he’d left his son alone, he’d left him alone and he should have been there, he should have known Stiles needed him. “What happened then?” He asked quietly.

“Um, well, Heather said Finn was coming with her, I’d met him the other day when I was getting you a burger, he kind of creeped me out but I didn’t think anything of it. They turned up and I was thinking it was a good thing, that if Finn saw it too, its corroborating evidence, it would narrow down the search parameters. So, I invited them in and I got them a drink and then I’d realised I’d left the case notes upstairs, it was just bullet points, things that I’d jotted down from the notes I’d seen and the books, I thought if I could match what Heather and Finn had seen then it would narrow down what we were looking for. I went and grabbed them and came back downstairs and they still looked nervous, scared almost. Finn started telling me about what they saw and I had a drink.” Stiles continued, looking pained, like he didn’t want to relive it, couldn’t believe what an idiot he’d been now he knew what they had been planning.

“What did they see?” Derek asked and Stiles fought back what looked like a smirk.

“You.” He replied and Derek looked at him in confusion.

“What?” 

“Well, I’m not sure if it was you, but, apparently, they saw some guy on a street corner, dark hair, stubble, leather jacket and jeans, about six-foot-tall, glared at Heather when they walked past and then when they turned around to look at him again he was gone.” Stiles replied and Derek raised his eyebrows in surprise, sure it sounded like it could have been him, but, surely, he’d remember that? He knew he’d never smelled either Finn or Heather before, he would have remembered their scents. 

“But they didn’t see anything that linked to the murderer or, you know, werewolves?” His dad asked, whispering the last word as if afraid someone would overhear him.

“No. I told them that it was basically useless information, that they could maybe report it as suspicious but otherwise there was nothing to it. Made a joke about how the guy probably just lacked social skills, my throat was really dry so I just kept drinking, Heather said it was fine, that she was just a bit freaked out, I thought I was getting ill or something so I went to stand up and show them out, except my legs wouldn’t work properly.” Stiles looked pale, like he was about to be sick and Derek took a steadying breath, killing them now wouldn’t change anything. 

“It’s okay kiddo, take your time.” Noah said, keeping a hand on top of Stiles’, squeezing it reassuringly. 

“I, I asked them if they’d drugged me, I couldn’t figure out what was going on, I tried to get away but I couldn’t get my legs to work, and then Heather was there and she kept telling me it was okay, it was fine, I tried to push her away and get away but, I don’t know, I think I lost a bit of time, Finn kicked me, and then he punched me a couple of times and they dragged me up the stairs. I thought they were going to rob the house at first, but I couldn’t figure out why they didn’t wait until I was out. Then I thought they were going to kill me, that they were the murderers, but I didn’t know why they’d picked me, I mean, it wasn’t like I was close to figuring out what or who they were, there was no reason for them to kill me. I tried asking them what they wanted, but, I couldn’t get the words out, it was like, I don’t know, there’s periods of blackness, like I don’t remember what happened or how I got from downstairs to upstairs, I couldn’t get the words out properly, but what I do remember, it’s, there’s no confusion, it was like with the kanima venom, I was trapped in my own body and I couldn’t get it to respond.” Stiles explained, his hands were trembling and Noah squeezed tighter.

“So, when you got upstairs, what happened then? Do you remember?” He asked, wanting to comfort Stiles but also needing to know what happened.

“They dropped me on the bed, I thought they were going to kill me, but, then, Heather started kissing me and Finn started taking my clothes off, and I tried,” He choked out a sob and Derek felt like his heart was shattering in his chest, “I tried to push them away, tried to get them off me, but I couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything and I just, I was terrified. Heather had told Finn that she was sure I was a virgin, apparently, they’d talked about it and they thought it would be fun to,” He paused, swallowing loudly before gritting his teeth and continuing, “They thought it would be fun if they both got to fuck a virgin at the same time. I just, I was so fucking stupid, I didn’t think, I mean, god, why would anyone want to have sex with me!? I mean, nobody, nobody fucking looks at me like that and I didn’t, they didn’t, they didn’t care about what I looked like, they just wanted a virgin, and they wanted me paralyzed so I couldn’t fucking do anything about it and I’m such a fucking idiot.” 

“You are not an idiot.” Melissa said angrily, “You didn’t know Stiles. That doesn’t make you an idiot. That means you trusted someone you had known since you were a child. That’s not idiotic.”

“I don’t know, it seems like everyone I know from childhood seems to betraying me at the moment.” Stiles retorted sarcastically and then his mouth dropped open as if he hadn’t meant to say that whereas Melissa stared at him with a calculating gaze.

“I know about what Scott has done. Now he knows that I know and he knows I’m not happy with him. In fact, he’s not in a very good place at all and he only has himself to blame. I won’t defend his actions, but I will say that his heart was in the right place even if it was an idiotic place.” Melissa replied. “I don’t expect you to forgive him, any of you. But, I know he knows how wrong he’s done and hopefully one day he’ll be able to make it up to you.” 

“He came to see me yesterday actually, to ask to be part of the pack, because you said he was an omega.” Derek explained and Stiles looked at him in shame. “I told him he wasn’t an omega, because he had you and Allison, he explained what he’d said to you, about humans not being pack. I told him how he was an idiot, that humans are definitely still pack, that you are pack, if you want to be of course, and then Isaac convinced me to come and tell you that, even though you said to give you two hours.” He paused, “I mean, if Scott hadn’t come when he did, explained what he’d said, and if Isaac hadn’t been so pushy, then, I wouldn’t have been there when I was.” Stiles looked horrified, no doubt the images running through his mind were the same as the ones running through Derek’s, what he would have found if he’d been an hour later, if he’d been too late to stop them, if Stiles had gone for another hour without any kind of medical help, god, it didn’t bear thinking about.

“I’ll speak to him.” Stiles said clearing his throat, “When I get home, I’ll call and speak to him.” 

“It’s up to you, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to.” Melissa added. “None of us are going to force you to do anything you don’t want to.” There was silence for a few moments before Noah cleared his throat awkwardly. 

“Son, I know, none of us want you to have to go through this more than necessary, but, what happened after they took your clothes off? Did they…was there…did you…” Noah struggled for the words, he couldn’t ask his son if he’d been raped, he couldn’t get the words out.

“They didn’t get that far dad.” Stiles reassured him, “There was a lot of kissing, and, and touching.” Stiles flushed uncomfortably, “But, whatever they gave me, it didn’t get me, you know, excited or anything, so Heather was complaining a lot and whatever she did, it just made me want to puke and, then, well, Finn tried and it still didn’t work, and Finn, well, he, um,” Stiles looked more uncomfortable by the second but Noah had to know what had happened, for the sake of his sanity he had to know, “He used his finger, to, um, god, to try and, I guess, loosen me up.” Stiles looked mortified but Noah kept tight hold of his hand, letting him know that he wasn’t going anywhere, “It hurt. I think, I think it tore a little bit, then, Heather was complaining again, about how she couldn’t get me hard and Finn was saying about how he was going to just fuck me first, that maybe that would work and I was terrified, so fucking terrified I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest, and I didn’t, all I could think was that I didn’t want them to, that I didn’t want it to happen and then Derek was there and he pulled them off me and my chest really hurt and I sort of remember being in the car, but, it’s all kind of fuzzy after that.” Stiles finished.

“So you don’t remember anything from the hospital?” Noah clarified, glancing at Derek, surely if Stiles had been in pain then he should remember something, right?

“No. I mean, I remember feeling like someone had set my chest on fire, but, no, just pain, a lot of pain, and then it just, I don’t know, it went away.” Stiles finished before turning to look at Derek in suspicion, “Which I’m beginning to think I should thank you for?” He asked and Derek shrugged.

“It was nothing.” He replied, refusing to look at Noah and Melissa who were both looking at him almost fondly. 

“Dude, I think you’re forgetting that I’m the one that felt that pain, trust me, it might be nothing for a werewolf but for a breakable human it sure as hell felt like a huge deal, so, thank you.” Stiles rambled before sighing wearily. He was exhausted and all this talk had taken a lot out of him, he would be quite happy to go to sleep again now. 

“How do you feel now?” Melissa asked, “Any nausea? Dizziness?” Stiles shook his head and then regretted it.

“Maybe a bit of nausea.” He admitted feeling queasy. 

“I want to avoid giving you any painkillers or any other drugs until we know the drugs are completely out of your system, especially since you’ve already had such a bad reaction to them.” Melissa advised. 

“Bad reaction?” Stiles asked sleepily.

“Yes Stiles. You were brought in and a nurse on shift administered adrenaline, usually this would counter the effects of the drugs, instead, it caused your body to go into shock and your heart stopped. She should have never administered the drug until we knew what we were dealing with and she will be charged with medical negligence, regardless of whether you decide to press charges or not.” 

“I died?” Stiles said in shock.

“Yes.” Derek growled. “Until they got your heart started again. Then she wanted to perform the surgery on you without any painkillers because she didn’t think you would feel it.” 

“But you figured out I could?” Stiles queried and Derek nodded, “I’m guessing it was around this time you wolfed out and exposed the werewolfy secrets to my dad?” 

“No, he actually managed to hold it together until Melissa got here, I didn’t know what was going on up until he had red eyes and even then I thought he was on drugs or something.” Noah admitted but Stiles looked scandalized.

“You used Alpha eyes on my dad!?” 

“No.” Derek sighed exasperated. “I was draining your pain and it, well, it hurt, and the wolf wanted control.” He admitted and Stiles looked at him in surprise, his eyes going soft with something like fondness. 

“Thanks, again, for that.” Stiles muttered. 

“So, Derek, are you going to stay and be Stiles’ painkiller? Or do you want to call another member of the pack?” Noah asked and Derek shrugged.

“If you’d prefer one of the others to come?” He asked Stiles, not wanting to pressure him into doing anything he wasn’t happy with.

“No, no, please, I, they can’t, I don’t want, don’t tell them. Don’t tell them what happened.” Stiles replied, his words trailing off as he slipped towards sleep but the meaning behind them was evident, he didn’t want the pack to know. 

Derek stayed while Stiles slept, draining him of pain as and when necessary, he could see that Noah looked exhausted, like he’d aged ten years overnight, he felt bad about that, but there had been no other choice, he had to know. 

“You’re staying for a while longer yet?” Noah asked getting to his feet and Derek looked at him in confusion. “I’m going to go the station, make sure that those bastards get locked up for a long time. I don’t want him to wake up alone.” 

“Sure.” Derek nodded, suddenly wanting to go with Noah, make sure that they confessed to everything, make sure that they stayed locked up, stayed the hell away from Stiles, but, he had to trust Noah to do his job. Instead he stayed sat by the bed as Noah pressed a soft kiss to Stiles’ forehead, carefully avoiding the bruising before turning on his heel and leaving. 

He couldn’t help but stare at Stiles while he slept, he looked so young, so innocent, so breakable, he knew he was staring but he couldn’t help it, he was afraid if he looked away then Stiles would get hurt somehow, no matter how irrational it sounded, he couldn’t let Stiles out of his sight. 

He finally glanced at his phone when it started ringing, it was mid-afternoon by then and he was more than a little surprised that the pack had waited this long to contact him. He answered quietly, not wanting to disturb Stiles, knowing he needed to rest. 

“Derek?” Peter asked, “I know you and Stiles have a lot of things to discuss but you’ve been gone all night and all morning, are you planning on coming home and explaining what’s going on to the rest of us anytime soon?” He said sarcastically and Derek sighed wearily. 

“No. I’m going to be gone for a while yet.”

“What do you mean a while?” Peter paused and then inhaled sharply, “Is that beeping what I think it is? Are you in a hospital? Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine.” Derek replied quietly, reaching out to drain a bit more pain from Stiles when he shifted in his sleep uncomfortably. 

“Derek, tell me what the hell is going on right now!” Peter snapped and Derek could hear the sounds of the rest of the pack gathering closer, no doubt listening to the conversation intently. Derek gritted his teeth, what the hell was he supposed to do? Stiles’ last words before he fell asleep were that he didn’t want any of them to know, Derek couldn’t tell them, but if he didn’t tell them what was going on, then the pack would no doubt start tearing the hospital apart searching for him. He rubbed a hand over his eyes in exhaustion, what was he supposed to do? 

“Dad?” Stiles’ voice sounded slurred and confused and Derek sat bolt upright to look at him, ignoring the voices he could hear coming from his phone, shouts about ‘is that Stiles?’ ‘is he okay?’ ‘what happened?’ ‘where are you?’

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Derek asked nervously, Stiles looked confused and pained and when Derek reached out to drain more pain from him Stiles flinched away from his hand.

“Who are you?” Stiles asked in fear and Derek felt his stomach drop, “Where’s my dad? What happened? Where am I?” Stiles rambled, his voice still slurring slightly but sounding more terrified by the second.

“Shh, Stiles, it’s okay, it’s okay, you’re safe, you’re fine. Your dad had to go to the station, there was an incident, do you remember that?”

“I don’t know you. Get away from me. Leave me alone.” Stiles replied, sounding more panicked by the second, thankfully the door opened at that moment and Melissa walked in, looking at the two of them in confusion, at the way that Derek had backed away from Stiles as if he was worried about scaring him and Stiles was looking on the verge of another panic attack.

“Hey sweetie, everything okay? How are you feeling this afternoon?” Melissa asked calmly but Stiles just seemed even more terrified.

“I don’t…who are you? Where am I? Where’s my dad?” Stiles rambled and Melissa frowned, looking worried as she approached him and started checking his vitals.

“What’s going on? Why doesn’t he remember us?” Derek asked in worry, too wrapped up in his fear to listen to the voices on the other end of the phone that were telling him they were on their way and that they’d be there soon. 

“Stiles,” Melissa used her professional tone, “I need to examine you. Can you stay still for me?”

“I want my dad.” Stiles almost sobbed and Melissa looked to Derek, handing him her phone.

“Call him, get him back here now.” She snapped, already turning to examine Stiles, shining a light in his eyes and studying him for a minute before asking Stiles to squeeze her hand, lift his leg, move his toes, the examination continued and then she turned to Derek looking more worried than Derek had ever seen before, “I need to know what drugs they gave him. I need to know now.” 

“Hello?” Noah answered, “Melissa? Is everything okay with Stiles?”

“It’s Derek, Stiles woke up but he doesn’t recognise us, Melissa says she needs to know what drugs they gave him.” Derek said as calmly as he could even if his heart was pounding in his throat, putting the phone on speaker so that Melissa and Stiles could both hear him, Derek hoped that the sound of his dad’s voice might relax Stiles but, if anything, he looked even more wild eyed. 

“They’re denying everything!” Noah growled angrily, “They say they didn’t give him anything, that if Stiles took anything it was before they got there.” 

“But we know it’s not true!” Derek almost shouted and Stiles looked at him with fearful eyes, he took a deep breath to try and calm himself, wolfing out wouldn’t help anything right now. 

“I know!” Noah shouted in reply, “What the hell do you want me to do Derek!? I can’t force them to tell me.” 

“Noah, you need to find out. Now.” Melissa said and something in the tone of her voice must have made Noah panic.

“Why? What’s happening? You said the concussion would make him confused, are we sure this is something to do with the drugs?” Noah asked sounding terrified.

“This is something else.” Melissa replied, “I don’t know if it’s a reaction to the drugs or something worse.”

“Worse like what?” Derek and Noah asked in unison. Melissa hesitated, moving away from Stiles before approaching the phone and saying it so quietly that Derek wasn’t sure Noah would even hear her.

“Like bleeding on the brain. If we need to do surgery, we would need to give him proper painkillers and we can’t do that if we don’t know what drugs he’s been given so you need to find out and you need to find out now.” Melissa explained doing her best to maintain her professionalism despite the fact that it was obvious she was terrified. 

“Derek!” He heard Erica’s voice a moment before the door burst open and the entire pack flooded in, looking between Derek and Melissa before their eyes all fell on Stiles. “What the hell happened?” Erica shouted and Stiles looked at them all in confusion, glancing between them and Derek, obviously not knowing what the hell was going on. 

“Do you recognise me?” Lydia asked and Stiles shook his head slowly, wincing slightly as if he was in pain and biting on his lower lip as if he could tell they were all disappointed by the lack of recognition. 

“I’m on my way to the station.” Derek said to Noah, “Make sure they’re unsupervised and I’ll find out what they gave him.” 

“Okay.” Noah agreed readily. “I’ll explain it to the deputies on shift and then I’m coming back to the hospital, I need to be there.”

“Noah, stay at the station, we don’t need Derek getting into trouble with the authorities and we need to know what they gave him.” Melissa ordered, “Once we know then you can both hightail it back here. Now go.” She said practically shoving Derek out of the door.

Derek ran out to his car, his tyres squealing as he raced out of the car park towards the station, his mind filled with the image of Stiles looking at him with complete confusion and no recognition whatsoever. He arrived at the station within five minutes, he knew he’d been speeding but, Jesus, Stiles could have bleeding on the brain, he needed to know what the hell they’d given him. 

He stormed into the station, the four deputies in the back giving him a wide berth, obviously being told by Noah what was happening. Noah himself was stood by a closed door, pacing and chewing on his thumb nail nervously, wanting to be with his son, knowing he had to be here. He glanced up when he saw Derek approaching and nodded in something like relief as Derek strode to the door and opened it without breaking his stride.

Finn and Heather were both handcuffed to the table, they looked relaxed for an instant before they saw Derek and then they both tensed. Derek wasn’t going to play nice, his eyes were already glowing red and he was furious, he slammed Finn’s head down into the table and Heather let out a squeak of fear.

“What did you give him!?” Derek roared and Heather looked at Finn in terror. “I won’t ask again, tell me now or I bring out the claws and start tearing you to shreds.” He threatened, digging his claws into the back of Finn’s head, making sure he could feel the pinpoints against his skin.

“We don’t know!” Finn shouted and Heather paled.

“Shut up Finn!” She replied.

“No! You shut up! We don’t know, we don’t know what was in it!” He shouted as Derek dug his claws in deeper. 

“What the fuck do you mean you don’t know!?” Derek growled, his claws digging a little deeper and his wolf howling at him to hurt this little shit, to kill him, he hurt Stiles, he deserved to die. 

“I mean I don’t know!” Finn shouted, “We saw Stiles at the diner and we both decided we wanted him, we were talking about what to use, we wanted to make sure he remembered, we wanted to make sure he couldn’t scream or shout for help, we had some sedatives, some roofies, amphetamine and acid and we talked about mixing them together…” Derek thought it was fucking lucky that they hadn’t overdosed Stiles, what the fuck were they thinking!? They could have killed him long before they raped him!

“What do you mean that you wanted him? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Derek snarled.

“I mean, fuck dude, what do you want me to say? Have you seen him? His mouth? His lips? His fingers? God, he gave me a fucking hard on just from looking at him, Heather felt the same, and when she said she thought he was a virgin, it was just, he was perfect, I mean, I would have fucked him regardless, but, you know, the fact he was a virgin made it even more exciting, okay? What the fuck else do you want me to say!?” Finn replied and Derek pressed down more forcefully because they didn’t get to talk about Stiles like that, didn’t get to look at him and think they wanted to fuck him, not after they assaulted him, not after they nearly raped him.

“What. Did. You. Give. Him.” Derek growled each word out slowly, if they didn’t tell him what he wanted to know then he would kill them. 

“We don’t know!!” Finn screamed, “Some old guy overheard us, he came up to us told us he had something we could add to the mix, something that would make it good for all of us.” Derek paused, he was confused, who the hell would offer to give these kids drugs? 

“What did he look like?” Derek asked.

“I don’t know, an old guy, he had this weird black goo dripping out of his nose.” Finn explained, Derek didn’t mean for his claws to come out quite so far but he couldn’t help it. Gerard. Gerard had given them something. Why the hell would he give them drugs to rape someone? Unless, no, fuck, that couldn’t be right.

“Did you say Stiles’ name!?” Derek shouted and Heather flinched violently.

“What?” Finn said in surprise at this turn of events.

“Did he hear you say Stiles!?” Derek practically screamed and Heather looked on the verge of sobbing. 

“I guess he could have done.” Finn muttered and Derek slammed his head into the table again before letting go of him, this was worse than he thought, if Gerard had given them something, knowing they were going to give it to Stiles…

“Fuck.” He cursed, already moving back towards the main door and meeting Noah there. “Come on we have to get back to the hospital.” He said urgently, grabbing his phone on the way to call Scott. “Scott, I need Chris Argent’s number, it’s an emergency.” 

“I don’t have it.” Scott replied, “I can call Allison, I think her dad is with her at the moment?”

“Do it. Tell him he needs to call me immediately, it’s important.” Derek stressed.

“Sure, is everything okay? The pack are okay, aren’t they?” Scott asked.

“Just fucking call him!” Derek snarled and hung up the phone.

“You’re going to have to explain what’s going on here because I’m confused.” Noah said from the passenger seat. 

“Gerard. He was the man that gave them the drug, whatever it was, he knew it was Stiles they were going after, he fucking knew it and he gave them something. We need to figure out what it was.” Derek cursed, already pulling back into the hospital car park and jumping out of the car to get back to Stiles, trusting that Noah was following after him. 

“Derek, what’s going on?” Isaac asked as soon as he got back into the room, Stiles was asleep again but they were all still hovering nervously, no doubt sensing their Alpha’s fear and anger. 

“Stiles?” Noah whispered, moving to his son’s side and holding his hand gently, Stiles stirred slightly and he blinked open groggy eyes, “Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?” Stiles blinked a few more times and then frowned, Derek knew what was coming and it made him feel sick to his stomach. 

“Who are you?” Stiles whispered and Noah looked like he’d just been punched in his stomach, that all the air had been driven from his lungs. 

“Stiles, it’s me, it’s your dad.” Noah tried but there was still no recognition there, Stiles was biting on his lower lip, trying to remember something but not succeeding.

“I don’t know you. I’m sorry, but I don’t know who you are.” Stiles muttered and Noah gasped like he was in pain, Peter placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, Derek was just about to explain what they’d learned when his phone started ringing again and he snatched it up.

“Hale, this best be damn important.” Chris Argent spoke as soon as the call connected.

“Your dad gave a drug to some kids who used it on Stiles. We don’t know what the fuck is going on but he can’t remember us, Melissa or his dad.” Derek explained quickly, noticing how all the pack turned to stare at Stiles in shock and worry. 

“Fuck. Do you have any idea what it was?” Chris asked.

“If I knew that I wouldn’t be calling you.” Derek snarled. 

“Alright, fine, where are you? I’ll come to you.” Chris said.

“We’re at the hospital.” Derek replied. 

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can. In the meantime, keep him awake, I can’t say for certain, but a lot of memory drugs take effect while the subject is unconscious.” Chris explained before ending the call and Derek gritted his teeth, looking from Stiles who looking equal parts terrified and confused to the rest of his pack who just looked frightened. 

“What do we do? How do we help him get his memory back? We can’t let him get any worse, god, what the hell happened Derek?” Lydia asked and Derek sighed, how the hell was he supposed to fix this? How was he supposed to help Stiles? 

Chris was there within half an hour, Allison and Scott trailing after him and Scott looking more than a little betrayed that the rest of the pack was there and that his mom hadn’t told him. 

“Has he deteriorated any further?” Chris asked putting a bag down on the table closest to Stiles’ bed and taking in his beaten appearance. 

“Not that we can tell.” Melissa replied while Stiles only looked at him with heavy eyes, it was obvious he was exhausted and yet he was keeping himself awake because these strange people told him that it was important, that if he stayed awake a little longer then he’d see his dad again so he just had to hold on. 

“Stiles, my name is Chris Argent, we’ve met before, do you remember that?” Chris asked and Stiles shook his head.

“What the hell happened?” Scott whispered but Derek couldn’t deal with him right now, he needed to focus on Stiles, the rest of the pack ignored both him and Allison, too busy looking at Stiles with worry to pay them any attention.

“Okay, what’s the last thing you do remember?” Chris asked and Stiles paused, obviously thinking. 

“Mom. Mom making me cookies.” Stiles muttered and Derek saw the tears slipping down Noah’s cheeks.

“Okay, Derek, Noah, what happened after he was given the drugs? Did he pass out at all? Did he wake up? Not remember anything then? Remember everything?” Chris rattled off the questions and Derek tried to process them before replying.

“He was attacked. He passed out in the car on the way here but when he woke up this morning he was fine, he remembered what had happened, he seemed fine, just in pain from the injuries, but, generally fine, and we talked and he was okay, and then he went back to sleep and when he woke up this afternoon and he didn’t know who I was, or who Melissa was but he was asking for his dad and when we came back from the station he’d slept again and he didn’t know who Noah was.” Derek surmised as quickly as he could.

Chris nodded, muttering to himself as he rummaged through his bag, pulling out different items, glancing at Stiles and then discarding them. Derek wanted to tell him to hurry up but Chris was the only one who seemed to have any idea what the hell was happening to Stiles. 

“You’ve done a CT scan? Ruled out brain bleeding?” Chris asked and Melissa nodded, apparently they’d been busy while Derek was at the station. “Okay so we can conclude that this is supernatural related then.” Chris muttered to himself. 

“Supernatural?” Stiles queried.

“Fuck.” Jackson whispered.

“How do we stop it from getting any worse?” Lydia asked.

“Until we know what it is, the only thing we can do is keep him awake, try and slow it down. If we give him the wrong thing it could do a hell of a lot worse than just make him lose his memory. Did he say anything about how it felt? Did he feel high? Blackout? Anything like that?”

“He said,” Derek paused, thinking over what Stiles had said previously, “He said it was like when he was paralyzed by the kanima, that it was exactly like that, that he couldn’t move but he knew what was going on. You think Gerard gave him kanima venom?” 

“Possibly.” Chris mused, “Did they say anything about giving him anything else? Mixing it in with anything else?” 

“They said they mixed it in with some acid, sedatives, some roofies and amphetamine.” Noah explained. 

“It’s a wonder they didn’t kill him.” Chris replied, echoing Derek’s earlier thoughts. “Okay, well, none of those would cause memory loss like this, this is too quick, too aggressive, and the kanima venom would paralyze him but it wouldn’t cause this, maybe, combined, the drugs could cause damage to the brain but it would have shown up on the CT scan so we have to think that Gerard put something else in with the venom. Something else that would cause the memory loss.” Chris paused, obviously mulling it over, pulling out items again and discarding them just as quickly. “He didn’t say anything about a funny taste in his mouth?”

“No.” Noah paused turning to look at Derek, “But he said he was thirsty, didn’t he? He said he thought he was getting ill, and he had a really dry throat, so he finished the drink.” Derek nodded in agreement and Chris looked thoughtful, glancing from Stiles to the few items he had left. 

“Okay, that narrows it down.” Chris replied, sounding almost hopeful as he pulled out a small vial. 

“Is that the antidote? Will it fix him?” Noah asked agitatedly. 

“Possibly, either that or kill him.” Chris said solemnly. 

“What!?” Everyone squawked in terror.

“It wasn’t a drug that Gerard used, it was a poison. First, it’s goes after the brain, removing the memories, then it starts in on the more important areas of the brain, how to walk, how to speak, how to move, until eventually, he’ll forget how to breathe. The sooner the antidote is administered the better, it means he stands a chance of regaining his lost memories, but it could just as easily kill him as the poison will.”

“Hang on, wait, just wait a second!” Noah shouted above the commotion in the room, looking at Chris seriously, “Either we don’t give him this and he will die, or we do and he might still die?” 

“Yes.” Chris said solemnly and there was silence in the room.

“Give it to me.” Stiles muttered sounding weak, every eye turned to him, “Hey, look, I don’t know you guys, but I know the word poison and antidote, and I understand the risks, but I’d rather try than not try and definitely die, besides, even if I don’t know who you are exactly, you all still kind of feel important, so, I guess that means I can trust you.” 

“Stiles it could kill you.” Scott whined.

“Yeah, and from the sounds of things the poison definitely will. Let me take my chances at least.” Stiles replied, a smile on his lips even as he grimaced in pain. Chris looked to Noah who nodded seriously before moving to the bed and grasping Stiles’ hand tightly. 

“I’m right here with you, kiddo, whatever happens I’m right here and I love you, I love you so damn much.” Noah muttered, Stiles nodded but it was evident that he couldn’t say the same thing back, he didn’t even know who this man was, even if he called himself Stiles’ father, he didn’t know him. 

“Stiles,” Derek said from the other side of him and Stiles turned to look at him just slightly, “I, um,” He paused and shook his head, now was not the time for declarations of love, “It’s going to work, you’re going to be fine.” He offered reassuringly, Stiles frowned slightly, it kind of looked like Derek had been going to say something else.

“We’ll all be right here for you buddy.” Scott said, reaching out to touch his leg. Stiles nodded, he needed his memories back, he needed to know who these people were to him, because they all looked at him like he was important to them, that he mattered to them, he needed to figure it out. 

“Do it.” He said to Chris who was standing nearby with a needle in his hand ready, Chris leaned forward and pressed the needle into Stiles’ neck, Stiles winced as the needle scratched through his skin and then Chris was injecting him and it was too late to back out now. 

For a minute nothing happened and Stiles looked at the expectant faces around him, all of them waiting for him to say something, recognize them, make a joke, do something to show he was back, he was fine. Stiles glanced across at Chris, raising his eyebrows in question, opening his mouth to ask why nothing was happening when a sudden pain shot through him, it felt like a spear had been slammed into his brain and his whole body seized, his eyes rolling shut, his back arching away from the bed, his teeth smashed together and his muscles tensed. 

He could hear shouting, voices that were filled with panic and fear, but he couldn’t do anything about it, he could barely think or breathe, it hurt, it hurt so much, too much, he couldn’t breathe. He could feel hands on his arms, across his chest, as if trying to keep him in place, but it was like it was someone else’s body, his mind was far away and everything was too much and he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even remember how to breathe, then it was like a sense of calm detachment came over him, he didn’t need to breathe, didn’t need to open his eyes, didn’t need to fight, didn’t need to be in pain, he relaxed and let his mind float away. 

Derek watched in horror as Stiles started to seize, Melissa calling out that they needed to stabilize him otherwise he could tear the tube out of his lung. He reached across, putting a hand across Stiles’ chest and trying to hold him as steady as possible without restraining him, knowing that just pinning him in place could cause even more damage with a seizure. 

“Stiles!” Noah was calling in panic, cupping Stiles’ cheeks in his hands and pleading with his son to open his eyes, that it was okay, that he was here, that Stiles was going to be fine. The seizure lasted three minutes and then Stiles flatlined and Derek felt his legs go weak. Melissa was pushing the rest of them out of the way as she placed pads on Stiles’ chest, shouting at them to get clear before she shocked him. The monitor was still showing a flatline and Derek looked from Melissa to Noah and finally to Stiles. He should have done something, he should have given him the bite, the bite would have cured the poison, why didn’t he give him the bite!? How could he have been so stupid!?

“Don’t you dare Stiles!” Melissa scolded, lowering the paddles again and shocking him again. There was still no change on the monitor and Melissa went back to the machine, turning it to a higher setting. “Clear!” She shouted again, Isaac grabbing Noah’s hands and pulling them away from Stiles’ face, Melissa shocked him again and finally, finally, Derek heard a beat of Stiles’ heart.

“Come on Stiles.” Derek muttered when it stopped again and Melissa prepared the paddles again. “Come on, don’t give up on us. You can do this Stiles.” He whispered, ignoring the flaring pain in his chest at the thought of losing Stiles, he couldn’t lose him. “Wake up Stiles!” He said louder, his eyes flashing red as his wolf took control, “Wake up!” He roared, loud enough to shake the glass in the windows, strong enough that the whole hospital would have heard it and desperate enough that the entire pack trembled and whimpered with their Alpha’s roar. 

There was a silence and then Stiles’ heart thudded loudly and Derek almost collapsed in relief as it kept beating, appearing on the monitor a moment later as Noah stared at it in wonder before turning to Stiles and clenching his hand tightly. 

“That’s it kiddo, you’re doing great, I’m right here Stiles, we’re all right here with you.” Noah muttered, obviously trying to offer Stiles whatever comfort he could. 

Stiles didn’t wake up.


	5. Chapter 5

Melissa took him for another scan and it showed higher than normal brain activity but he was still unconscious, she said they just had to wait. After twenty-four hours, she decided it was okay to remove the tube from his lung, they all waited with baited breath, hoping that it would cause Stiles to wake up. It didn’t. After forty-eight hours, they were all exhausted, Derek couldn’t leave though, couldn’t bear to go home and leave Stiles here. The rest of the pack waited too, although they’d all gone home at some point or another, got a few hours’ sleep and a change of clothes, Boyd brought back a set of clean clothes for Derek and a spare set for Noah even if they didn’t fit him as well as his own clothes, they used the shower in the small bathroom and got themselves cleaned up and then returned to waiting. 

None of the pack knew what had happened to Stiles, despite asking repeatedly, Derek, Noah and Melissa had all heard his final words before he went to sleep, that he didn’t want them to know, it was up to Stiles to tell them, when he was ready. Scott had been staring at Derek almost continuously for the past three hours and Derek was getting fed up of it but he didn’t want to start an argument, not now, not when Stiles was lying so still and motionless between them. Stiles was the only thing he was focused on right now. 

“How long?” Scott finally asked breaking the silence, Derek looked up and was surprised to find that Scott was looking at him and waiting for an answer.

“How long what?” Derek asked, his voice cracking with disuse, was it really that long since he’d last spoken?

“How long have the two of you been sleeping together?” Scott asked and the entire pack rolled their eyes.

“We’re not sleeping together.” Derek growled out, Noah was frowning at Scott in annoyance, obviously thinking that there was a time and a place for this and it wasn’t now. 

“You’re lying.” Scott replied, “Why are you doing it? Are you trying to use him to get at me? Do you think that it’s okay to use him like that? What do you think it’s going to achieve? I already asked to join the pack, you don’t need to sleep with him to get me to submit, you don’t need to use him to get me to behave.”

“Scott, don’t be so fucking ridiculous.” Lydia scoffed, “You’re really not that important to Derek or to any of us, why don’t you get over yourself?” 

“Lydia!” Allison said in shock.

“What? So it’s okay for him to basically imply that Derek is fucking Stiles just to get at Scott, but to say that’s he’s a self-involved jumped up prick is taking it too far?” 

“Says you!” Scott shouted, “Because you never think about anyone other than yourself! You’re so wrapped up in yourself that you didn’t even notice Stiles pining after you for years!”

“Don’t speak to her like that!” Jackson shouted in reply, looking ready to tear Scott apart.

“He has kind of got a point though.” Erica shrugged, “I mean, Lydia has her moments.” 

“Yeah, moments where she thinks about herself, like all of us do, not like Scott who completely forgets anyone else exists as soon as Allison is mentioned!” Isaac replied.

“Like you’re fucking perfect!?” Scott argued.

“Well, if I hadn’t been completely out of my mind, I would have perhaps chosen a better candidate, definitely Isaac over Scott, although Stiles would be my first choice.” Peter chipped in and Derek growled at him. 

“Don’t even think about it.” Derek snarled.

“It’s not like I can, not anymore, and, even if I did still have the ability to, I’m almost certain Stiles would turn me down, just like last time.” Peter replied.

“What the hell do you mean ‘like last time’!?” Noah practically shouted. 

They were all arguing with each other, shouting over each other in the attempt to be heard, Jackson’s eyes were glowing blue as he snarled at Scott and Scott’s claws were out, almost as if he was ready to launch an attack over Stiles’ bed. 

Stiles winced, what was all that noise? He opened his eyes groggily, calling out for the one thing he needed, the one person he had to know was safe.

“D’d?” He mumbled sleepily and suddenly silence fell, everyone turned around to stare at him, their eyes fading back to normal colours, the claws retracting back in to their fingernails.

“Stiles!” Noah cried in relief, “Stiles! Oh, thank god! Kiddo, are you okay? How are you feeling? Are you alright?” 

“Wh’t…wh’t happn’d?” Stiles asked, his words slurring as he tried to sit up and winced in pain, Derek moving forward to touch a hand to his shoulder and start to drain the pain. 

“Stiles, do you know who I am?” Noah asked nervously and Stiles looked at him with surprise.

“Yeah, dad.” Stiles nodded, looking at his dad like he’d lost his mind, “Are you okay?” 

“Stiles, who am I? What’s my name?” Derek asked quickly.

“Derek, what the hell…” Stiles trailed off looking exhausted, “What is going on?”

“What do you remember? Do you remember how you got here?” Derek pressed and Stiles looked more worried by the second.

“What...I don’t…what’s going on?”

“Stiles, do you remember how you ended up in the hospital?” Noah asked solemnly and Stiles’ cheeks heated up in embarrassment, glancing nervously at the pack before he nodded. “Okay, that’s good Stiles, that’s really good, do you remember waking up? Talking to Derek and I?” Stiles frowned for a moment, obviously concentrating before he nodded again. “Do you remember waking up since then? Talking to us? About the poison?” 

“Poison?” Stiles asked nervously, shaking his head at the same time, “I was poisoned?”

“But you remember all of us?” Scott asked, “I mean, you know who I am? And about werewolves and stuff?” 

“Werewolves?” Stiles asked, his brow rumpled in confusion, they all tensed before Stiles let out a grin, it wasn’t quite his usual full beaming grin but there was a definite smirk there, “I’m guessing that joking about losing your memory when part of your memory is still missing isn’t funny?” Noah slapped him lightly on the arm before pulling him into a gentle hug. 

“I’m so glad you are alright kid, you gave us all quite a scare.” Noah sighed and Stiles hugged him back a little gingerly, obviously still in some level of pain. 

“How long have I been out?” He asked.

“Since we gave you the antidote? Nearly three days.” Derek mumbled and Stiles’ eyes went wide.

“Three days!?” Stiles squeaked. 

“But, you’re okay now, I mean, other than not remembering the day that you lost your memory, you remember everything else, right?” Scott asked.

“Yeah man, I remember, or, at least I think I do.” Stiles agreed.

“You remember Scott getting bitten? And Peter being the Alpha? Kate? Derek becoming the Alpha? And the Kanima? Gerard? The other hunters?” Erica asked and Stiles nodded after each point.

“You remember what I did? What I said?” Scott asked and Stiles screwed up his eyebrows in confusion.

“About betraying the pack and nearly getting them all killed? Or telling me that as a human I didn’t count as pack?” Stiles asked and Scott’s bottom lip quivered. 

“I’m sorry Stiles, god, I’m so sorry. If I’d known, god, please, please forgive me.” Scott begged and Stiles glanced at Derek who was looking at Scott with distrust evident in his features. 

“It’s not me that needs to forgive you.” Stiles said, sighing wearily, he was exhausted and he really needed to sleep again, “You betrayed the pack, you put everyone in danger, Derek could have died, they all could have died, I could have died. If Derek sees fit to forgive you, if Derek can trust that you won’t hurt his pack again, then I’ll agree with him, but, if he can’t, then I’m sorry Scott, but I’ll agree with him then too.”

“Stiles…” Scott whispered, looking betrayed, “We’re brothers dude. What happened to always having each other’s backs?” 

“I’ll always have your back Scott, even if you aren’t pack, you’ll always be my best friend, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you whenever I can, but not at the expense of the pack, I can’t put them in danger and they can’t trust you.” Stiles explained slowly, exhaustion seeping into every pore of his body.

“Stiles…” Scott whined. 

“Scott.” Derek tensed, “Stiles is part of my pack.” Derek paused, letting those words sink in, they felt right, it felt right claiming Stiles as his pack, “He’s also got no sense of self-preservation, which means that if you’re in danger, he’ll help you. Stiles is right, I don’t trust you, but, I’d rather risk having you in the pack than have Stiles running off to help you by himself.” 

“I wouldn’t…” Stiles started to protest but faltered when Derek glared at him.

“I’m not sure how this is going to work, but, I’ll give you a chance, you can join the pack on a trial basis, but, if you betray us, or if you ever dare tell a member of my pack that they don’t matter, you’ll be lucky to leave alive. You understand me?” Derek asked and Scott gulped nervously.

“He’ll do it.” Melissa said, staring at Scott, “You need a pack, you need other wolves, we all know it, you’re just too stubborn to realise it. I know you don’t like being told what to do, but, sometimes, it’s okay to let other people make the big decisions. Derek’s the Alpha and he’s willing to accept you. Don’t throw that away. Please.” She practically begged.

“Okay. Okay, Derek, if you’ll accept me, I’d really like to join your pack.” Scott replied. The rest of the pack looked at Derek nervously, as if questioning his decision slightly and he looked across at them.

“Any of you disagree?” He asked, he wasn’t being aggressive, he sounded like he genuinely wanted their opinion and they all looked at him in surprise.

“Honestly, I think it’s a bad idea. He betrayed us once and it nearly cost us our lives.” Erica said, glancing almost meaningfully at Stiles, who met her eyes for a moment before looking away, “But, I know that we can’t ask Stiles to choose, that he couldn’t abandon Scott, and, well, I’m not willing to risk him getting hurt again, so, if you think we can do it, then, okay.” 

“What do you mean ‘hurt again’?” Jackson asked and Erica blushed slightly as she shrugged casually, Stiles looking at her with almost panic in his eyes.

“Well, how many times has someone or something nearly killed him since Scott got bitten? And this latest thing, which you still haven’t explained properly, other than Gerard gave drugs to whoever it was that drugged Stiles, but, yeah, that’s still not been explained, so, any explanation you’d like to give us would be good.” Erica rambled the rest of the pack still not looking happy but at least understanding her point.

“How many times have you nearly died since this whole thing started?” Noah asked and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“I dunno, I kind of stopped keeping track after the first half dozen or so times.” Stiles replied tiredly.

“Not the kind of thing I needed to hear.” Noah muttered.

“Now you know why I was trying to keep you out of it.” Stiles replied, his eyes drifting shut even as he tried to fight them, he thought it was important to stay awake, listen to the rest of the conversation, but, honestly, he was exhausted, he just wanted to sleep, not to mention his ribs ached and his head hurt and whenever he shifted even slightly it made everything worse. Derek moved forwards, placing a hand on his arm to drain the pain away and Stiles let out a sigh of relief, slipping into sleep in an instant with a mumbled ‘thanks’ in Derek’s direction.

“Are we sure the poison is gone? Like, if he falls asleep, he’s not going to forget us all again, is he?” Isaac asked and Derek pursed his lips. 

“No, I’m almost certain it’s gone, he doesn’t smell of drugs anymore, just exhaustion and pain.” Derek admitted. 

“What happened Derek?” Allison asked seriously, “How did he end up in here in the first place? Did Gerard target him specifically? Do you think he’s going to go after him?” Erica and Boyd both tensed at that and Derek looked at them curiously but then dismissed it, knowing they were probably both just worried about a repeat of what Gerard had put them through previously.

“I don’t know.” Derek admitted, “Apparently, the people responsible, Gerard heard them say Stiles’ name and then he offered them the drugs, it could have just been a coincidence, but, we do know two things, one, Gerard is still in town somewhere and two, until we know what his plan is, nobody goes anywhere alone and Stiles is never left alone, not if this was planned purposefully.” 

The idea that Gerard could be going after Stiles made his heart thump wildly out of control, Derek would do everything in his power to protect Stiles, to make sure he was safe. He could hear the same racing heart beats from his own pack, Boyd and Erica especially, and Noah and Melissa, he knew they would all do everything they could to make sure Stiles stayed safe.

“You still haven’t told us what happened to him?” Scott asked. 

“He was researching, he got a call from someone, thought they’d seen something useful, wanted to talk about it in private, they came over, they spiked his drink, Derek went over and found them and brought Stiles to the hospital.” Noah explained, “I found out about werewolves and everything, then I went to the station to process the people responsible, and believe me, they will be held accountable for their actions.” 

“So, they were human?” Lydia asked sounding suspicious, Noah nodded and Derek could practically see her brain thinking that over, her eyes darting to Stiles’ injuries, reassessing what she had already seen, “Did they say why they spiked his drink? I mean, if they were going to hurt him why drug his drink?”

“We don’t know for definite.” Derek said, trying to convince himself that it was the truth, Lydia was still looking at him suspiciously though.

“I suppose, as the son of the sheriff, they could have wanted to go after him because of that?” She suggested and Derek nodded quickly. 

“Yeah, probably. I mean, I’ve made some enemies in the past, I have history with the father of one of them, it’s a possibility.” Noah agreed. At some point they knew the truth would come out but they couldn’t betray Stiles like that, telling them before he was ready, no, Stiles could tell them, when he was ready to.

Melissa said that if Stiles woke up and still had his memories then they’d look at letting him go home in the morning, Noah nodded, obviously thinking about having Stiles safe, Derek was busy thinking about what they’d find when they got home, the glass on the kitchen floor, the blood splattered on the tiles, the bed sheets rumpled, Stiles’ clothes thrown carelessly to the ground, Derek couldn’t let them go home to that. 

He waited a bit longer, making sure that Stiles wasn’t in a lot of pain before he excused himself, pulling Noah into the hallway with him and walking out of earshot of the rest of the pack.

“The house, it’ll be a mess, I’ll go tidy it up, I don’t want him going home to that.” Derek said quickly.

“I had some of the deputies go over, you know, take pictures of the crime scene and all that, I don’t know what kind of state they’ll have left it in.” Noah mumbled before glancing at Derek and reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder, “In case I haven’t said this enough yet, thank you, thank you so much, thank you for being there, thank you for…for stopping them.” Noah said, pulling Derek into a fatherly hug. It took Derek by surprise, it had been such a long time since he had been hugged by someone like this, he tensed for a moment before he relaxed, allowing himself just a moment to not be in control of everything, to be comforted by someone else instead of having to act like he always had the answers. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost him.” Noah said from where his head rested on Derek’s shoulder and Derek shuddered, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, catching Stiles’ scent on the jumper Noah was wearing and using it to calm his wolf.

“Me neither.” He admitted almost silently, he didn’t know how he would go on if anything happened to Stiles, he relied on him, so much, too much, but, he needed him, more than he’d ever needed anyone, he had to keep him safe. 

They pulled apart a minute later and Noah looked at him seriously.

“If you ever decide to tell Stiles about your feelings, although this werewolf thing is still new to me, and there’s a lot I’ve got to learn, I’m also sure that you’ll never hurt him, and, well, I wouldn’t stand in your way.” Noah said clapping a hand on his shoulder again and Derek felt a small smile creep onto his lips, the very idea of it was ridiculous, Stiles was, well, he was much too good for Derek, would never look at Derek like that and even if he did, he was so young, he couldn’t want what Derek wanted, maybe a bit of fun, yeah, but a serious relationship? Thinking about spending the rest of their lives together? Being mates? No, Stiles wouldn’t want that and Derek couldn’t force it on him. He didn’t know what the hell he’d been thinking even trying to pursue Stiles, the whole thing was a stupid idea.

“I’m going to go clean the house up, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Derek said, turning on his heel and leaving the hospital. 

The house was exactly as he’d left it, the difference was that there were signs that the deputies had been there too, the faint dust left where they’d obviously dusted for prints, Derek could still smell the arousal despite the fact it had been five days, he cleaned the kitchen first, scrubbing it until he could no longer smell Stiles’ blood on the floor, throwing open the windows and allowing fresh air to blow through the house and disperse the scents that had been lingering for days. 

He went up the stairs, cleaning as he went, determined that there would be no indication that anything had ever happened here, by the time he got to Stiles’ room he felt sick, the scent of fear was stronger here, the stench of it making Derek feel sick to his stomach, how could he have ever hesitated? How could he have thought it was mutual? Even for a second? The guilt ate at him and when he pushed the bedroom door open he fell to his knees, tears trickling down his cheeks. 

It was as he imagined it, Stiles’ clothes discarded on the floor like they were an afterthought, the comforter half pushed off the end of the bed, there was a hint of blood on the bottom sheet and Derek growled, ripping the remaining sheets from the bed and balling them up to go in the bin, not caring when his claws tore through them. He opened the window, allowing the fresh air to seep in and then started to clean. 

It took him the better part of six hours to make sure the house showed no signs of anything happening there, he knew it wasn’t going to be that easy, but he just hoped it helped in some way, he’d do anything to make this as easy for Stiles as possible. He drove back to the hospital slowly, a little surprised to see Lydia standing in the hallway as if she’d been expecting him.

“Lydia? Is everything alright?” Derek asked and Lydia turned to look at him, she did look upset and Derek panicked for a second that something had happened with Stiles while he was away.

“Relax, he’s fine.” Lydia said quickly, “Or, well, as fine as he can be with broken ribs and bruises and a concussion.” She bit her lip and then looked up at Derek, “I’m not an idiot, if you want to lie to the others then fine, but don’t lie to me.” She scolded and Derek looked at her in confusion, “There’s hickeys in amongst those bruises, so I think you know exactly what they were planning on doing, now, maybe none of the others have seen them, I’m not going to mention them if nobody has noticed them, but, you need to tell me, did they,” She paused as clenched her fists as if bracing herself for bad news, “Did you get there in time?” Derek stared at her in astonishment, he always forgot just how smart and observant Lydia was. 

“I did.” He admitted and the tension drained out of her body, “I mean, not completely, they had him upstairs, and, there was, there was tearing, Stiles said it was from fingers, but, there was, no, they didn’t get what they wanted, not completely.” He whispered, the confession torn from his throat as he thought how close he came to being too late.

“Who was it?” Lydia asked and Derek glanced around, not sure how much he should say, Stiles had asked them not to say anything. “Derek. Who. Did. This.” Lydia scowled, looking almost as scary as another Alpha. Derek had to remind himself that she wasn’t, but he still didn’t want to get on the wrong side of her.

“Heather and Finn. Apparently, Stiles went to pre-school with Heather? They’ve known each other for ages, and when she called to say she’d seen something and wanted to talk privately, he, well, he trusted her.” Derek admitted bitterly.

“Heather.” Lydia pursed her lips in thought, “Heather Madison? Hangs around with that creepy boyfriend of hers, um, god, what is his name, Finn, Finn Adams!” 

“Yeah, that’s them.” Derek agreed and Lydia scowled. 

“That little bitch, I’ll kill her.” 

“You’ll have to get in line, I’m pretty sure Noah wants to give them the death penalty, and, if they don’t, if they get out, I’ll kill them myself.” Derek replied casually, as if it wouldn’t bother him in the slightest to tear two human teenagers apart. Lydia understood that though, the image of Stiles, beaten, broken and bruised, his heart stopping, it was scorched into her brain, she could easily kill them too and never feel guilty over it, how dare they!? How dare they do that to Stiles!? 

The anger must have shown on her face, or perhaps Derek could smell it because he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her with concern.

“They will pay for this Lydia, one way or another, they won’t get away with it.” He reassured her and Lydia let out a little sniffle. 

“Is he okay? I mean, other than the bruises? Is he doing okay?”

“I’m not sure, he told us what happened, but, he didn’t want anyone else to know, not yet, and we agreed, it was so soon afterwards, I wanted to give him time to process, except, then he forgot us, forgot everything and, just, Jesus,” Derek rubbed a hand through his hair in agitation, “I went and cleaned the house, I could still smell their arousal and his fear and, god, if I hadn’t gone, if I’d waited for two hours like he’d asked, I should never have let him research by himself, he said he might have a lead and I left him alone, I should have been there, I should have been able to stop them, they should never have been allowed to get anywhere near him.” The words came tumbling out of him, every thought he’d had in the past five days, every ounce of guilt he was feeling because Stiles was only in that position because of him, if Derek hadn’t asked him to research then he never would have talked to Heather.

“Enough.” Lydia scolded, “You didn’t know Derek, none of us did. You couldn’t have known. Stiles didn’t even know. He trusted her. It’s not your fault. Please don’t blame yourself for this, you saved him Derek. If you hadn’t gone when you did, well, they would have raped him and god knows what else. You saved him. If Stiles knew you were thinking like this he would kick your ass.” She smiled fondly at that thought and Derek smiled back at her.

“Okay, you’re right.” 

“When am I not?” Lydia grinned, turning on her heel and taking his hand as they moved back towards Stiles’ room.

“All sorted?” Noah asked when they came in and Derek nodded firmly, ignoring the questioning looks from the rest of the pack, “I appreciate it.” Noah added. 

“Has he woken up at all?” Derek asked and Noah shook his head. 

“Mom said she’d be back in about half an hour to run some final tests and if she’s happy she’ll look at getting him discharged.” Scott informed him and Derek nodded, he wasn’t sure how this was going to work, wasn’t sure that he was ever going to be able to trust Scott, but, he had to try, if it meant that Stiles was safer then, he had to try.

The pack sat in silence for the next half hour, it was obvious they were all nervous, that they were worried about how Stiles would react when he woke up, Derek thought that it should probably feel weird that none of the pack had really gone home since they’d found out Stiles was in the hospital, that they’d dropped all their plans to be there for him but it made sense to Derek. Stiles was pack, he was the reason they were all still alive and together, without him there wouldn’t be a pack so of course everyone was hovering nearby until he got the all clear and could go home. 

Melissa smiled at them all softly when she entered the room in her usual scrubs, she checked the monitors surrounding Stiles quietly, aware that the entire pack were waiting with bated breath for her assessment. 

Eventually she’d finished all her checks and the only thing left was to see if Stiles’ memory was still complete, she moved to the head of the bed and looked across at the rest of the pack.

“Maybe you guys should wait outside? We don’t want to overwhelm him, if, if his memory is damaged still, it might be better to give him a little space?” She suggested, Derek wanted to agree with her but it felt wrong to leave Stiles in here alone, even if Melissa would be with him. “Alright.” Melissa sighed in exasperation, moving her hand over soothingly over the unbruised part of Stiles’ forehead, “Stiles? Sweetie? Can you hear me?” 

Stiles mumbled slightly in his sleep, grumbling slightly as Melissa pulled him towards consciousness until Stiles raised his arm to bat her hand away and jerked away, pain flaring as his injuries were jarred with the movement. He sucked in a sudden breath, stilling instantly as he surged into consciousness, blinking rapidly as his eyes watered with pain, taking in the people surrounding his bed. 

“Stiles? You back with us?” Melissa asked softly and Stiles nodded gently. 

“Uh-huh.” He nodded, his throat cracking, he glanced at the jug of water on the bedside table and Isaac leapt to his feet and poured him a glass, handing it to him quickly as Stiles gave him a weak smile as he raised the glass to his lips, wincing slightly as he tried to sit up and his ribs protested. 

“How do you feel?” Melissa queried.

“Okay.” Stiles replied.

“Alright, do you remember our conversation from earlier?” Melissa asked gently. 

“About the poison and my memory loss?” Stiles replied, “Yeah, I remember, remember how I got here, remember the fact that Gerard gave them the poison, still don’t remember the period of time when I apparently forgot you guys though.” Stiles rambled and Melissa nodded. 

“Okay, that’s, well, it’s not good, but at least you remember everything else.” Noah said weakly and Stiles gave him a small reassuring smile. 

“I’m okay dad.” Stiles said quietly. 

“No, you’re not, but you are alive and you will be okay, once you’re all healed up.” Noah replied. 

“So, does this mean I’m free to go?” Stiles asked Melissa, looking up at her hopefully, there was a pause before Melissa smiled.

“I’ll look at getting you discharged, you’ll still need to rest, take it easy, not do anything too strenuous, your ribs are still broken and although your concussion seems to have healed you still have significant bruising, it’s important that you rest, let the others run around after you for a while.” Melissa advised, looking at the rest of the pack sternly, obviously expecting them to follow her orders. 

Stiles had to use a wheelchair to get to the car because walking made his ribs hurt, he was surprised to see they were getting into Derek’s camaro rather than his father’s vehicle but he couldn’t be bothered asking why, instead he climbed from the wheelchair and slid into the back seat carefully, Isaac climbing in on the other side and starting to drain his pain immediately. He didn’t remember falling asleep but he felt his body pressed against someone else’s’, tensing immediately, when he opened his eyes Derek was carrying him towards the house and he relaxed, feeling safe as he allowed his eyes to drift closed again.

Derek knew that Noah was feeling overwhelmed, he was still new to all of this, he had only found out about werewolves a matter of days ago and now he had an entire pack in his house, refusing to leave while their packmate was injured. He knew they should leave, knew they should give Stiles space, give both of them time to adjust to all the changes in their lives in the past week, but, he couldn’t, he couldn’t bear to not be here if Stiles needed him, even if it was just to drain his pain. 

Noah kept glancing across from the other side of the kitchen island, looking at the pack that had made themselves comfortable on the sofas and chairs in the living room, Derek and Peter were standing by the doorway to the kitchen, Peter leaning on the doorjamb and Derek closer to the kitchen table, taking a sip of the coffee that Noah had poured him. 

“So, I’m guessing you’re intending to stay?” Noah asked and Derek glanced up at him. 

“Yes, we’d like to, I understand it’s a big change, but, we should be here, if Stiles needs us.” Derek replied.

“And that means all of you stay?” Noah mused.

“Gerard is still out there, we should stay where our Alpha is.” Peter replied and Noah stared at him in amusement. 

“Sure, yeah, that makes sense I guess. Well, I haven’t got enough food in to feed a pack of wolves so you’ll have to fend for yourselves. I’m going to go check on Stiles.” Noah stated, already heading towards the stairs. 

He was nearly to the top when Derek heard Stiles gasp awake, heard his heart start to beat a rapid rhythm, heard his chest constrict as he tried to pull in breaths that wouldn’t come, before Derek could react Noah was already at his bedroom door, opening it and seeing Stiles, rushing forward to comfort him.

“It’s okay, relax, Stiles, I’m right here, I’m here, you’re safe, take a breath, you’re okay.” Noah reassured him, rubbing his back soothingly as Stiles’ breaths started to calm.

“I can’t…I can’t be in here, I need to get out of here.” Stiles said still sounding panicked, as he threw the sheets off himself and tried to get out of the bedroom, letting out a whimper of pain as his ribs throbbed.

“Okay, relax kid, let me help you, okay, we’ll get out of here, alright? Just, hang on, let me help you.” Noah soothed, wrapping a hand around Stiles’ waist and holding him upright, “It’s okay, I’ve got you, you can lean on me, take your time, it’s okay.” Noah steered him out of the bedroom, hoping that the panic attack would lessen as they left the bedroom but it didn’t seem to be working, Stiles was still panicking and his hands were shaking where they clutched at Noah’s shirt helplessly. 

“Stiles, are you alright?” Scott asked as soon as Stiles and Noah appeared on the stairs.

“We’re fine, we’re both fine, we just need a drink and some space, right Stiles?” Noah replied, walking him slowly towards the kitchen, Stiles looked at the kitchen table and paled considerably, Noah noticed and turned him away, towards the sofa, glaring at Jackson and Isaac until they moved out of the way, practically jumping out of the sofa as Noah lowered Stiles onto it. “Alright, there we go Stiles, it’s safe, you’re safe.” 

“What happened?” Erica asked in worry as Derek already moved towards Stiles and started draining his pain. 

“Nothing. I’m fine.” Stiles said, his voice cracking slightly and betraying the obvious lie.

“Dude, you totally freaked, what happened?” Scott asked and Stiles seemed to shrink in on himself. 

“Nothing, honestly, I’m fine.” Stiles muttered. 

“Leave it Scott.” Derek growled when Scott opened his mouth to speak it again, Scott looked at Derek in surprise, opening and closing his mouth for a few seconds before clamping his jaw shut, gritting his teeth together and clenching his fists before nodding silently to Derek. 

Nobody else said anything, nobody dared to pull Stiles up on his blatant lie, they all knew he’d been drugged and attacked in his own home, of course it would take time for him to recover from that. The entire pack all agreed that it was better to stay there, that way they were together if Gerard tried anything else, Stiles tried to tell them repeatedly that he was fine, that he didn’t need them to babysit him and that they should all go home and get proper sleep in their own beds, his protests fell on deaf ears. 

The next few days were hectic to say the least, Stiles was staying off school until the worst of his injuries had healed, the pack members that were still in school went to their lessons as usual, occasionally they went to their own homes in at least groups of two to show their parents they were still alive before returning to the Stilinski’s house, Lydia’s mother had called Noah to make sure that Lydia was actually staying there and not lying to her and once Noah reassured her that Lydia was indeed staying at his house along with the rest of Stiles’ friends while he recovered she couldn’t apologize enough. Nobody else called. 

The pack all slept in the living room, Stiles buried in amongst all of them as he’d point blank refused to go back into his bedroom, barely even going back in there to get a change of clothes or another book that he thought might help. He knew the pack were suspicious of it, questioned it, but nobody said anything, Stiles would talk when he was ready.

The story spread that two teenagers had drugged and attacked Stiles in the sheriff’s own home, although nobody seemed to know the specifics of the assault and Stiles wasn’t in any hurry to tell anyone what had happened to him. Derek had hoped that he’d get to spend some time with Stiles in the house while everyone else was at school but it wasn’t the case. There were three more murders in the next week and he was out at all hours running the perimeter, Peter at his side because he’d been the one to insist that nobody go anywhere alone and Stiles argued that it applied to him too. Derek was in more danger running around chasing after whatever was killing people than Stiles was locked up in the house.

“I promise I won’t answer the door if anyone calls, I won’t open the windows, I won’t leave the house, now, will you please just get the fuck out and go see if you can find whatever the fuck this thing is.” Stiles whined when Derek looked around the yard suspiciously, sure that someone was lying in wait, ready to attack Stiles the moment his back was turned. Finally, he’d agreed, mainly because he thought Stiles might pitch a fit if he stayed any longer, Peter had smirked at Stiles, giving him a quick hug that surprised all of them before he’d dashed out of the house and Derek had stared after him in amazement before giving Stiles one final look and chased after Peter.

They still hadn’t found whatever was attacking people, they hadn’t even got a hint at where Gerard was hiding, Derek didn’t like it. The only plus side was that now Noah was in the know he brought home all information relating to the case and he and Stiles spent hours pouring over it in the evening, (once Stiles had finished all his homework that Scott had helpfully brought from school). They had a map of Beacon Hills pinned up on the wall, the location of each body marked on the map, along with notes on each victim, their home location, job description, daily activities, there was still nothing tying them together and the lack of progress was getting to all of them. The only good thing was that having the case to focus on seemed to help Stiles, well, in a way, Derek wasn’t sure if it was healthy that Stiles wasn’t dealing with what had happened to him, but, he seemed to need the case at the moment and Derek wasn’t going to deny him that. He just hoped that Stiles would know it was okay to talk about it, that he was there for him if he ever wanted to talk about it.

Noah arrived home late one evening, his expression a mix of righteous fury and complete and utter exhaustion, Derek was prepared for him to say that it was another murder, instead he eyed the pack uncertainly before he moved towards the kitchen where Stiles was standing staring at the wall like he could somehow pull the answers from it if he just stared long enough.

“Stiles.” Noah sighed, “Kiddo.” He tried again when there was no reaction.

“I was thinking maybe we’re missing something, maybe they’re not linked, maybe it’s picking them at random, maybe there is no pattern…” Stiles started sounding defeated.

“Stiles, I need to talk to you.”

“Sure, sure. Just, okay, it’s not even like they all live in Beacon Hills, some of them were just in town for the day, so maybe…”

“Stiles, it’s important.” Noah said seriously, Derek hovered in the doorway, the rest of the pack still in the living room and able to listen to every word clearly. Stiles stopped what he was doing, putting the pen down on the table and turning to look at his dad.

“Alright, shoot, what’s up?” Stiles asked, taking in his dad’s appearance and frowning slightly.

“I’ve got some bad news.” Noah began, taking a step towards Stiles, “Why don’t you sit down?” 

“You’re using your Sheriff’s voice on me.” Stiles replied, he was hoping to keep his voice light but instead it trembled and Derek wanted to go and hug him, tell him it was fine, whatever was going on, it would be fine, Derek would protect him. “Why are you using that voice with me?” Stiles stared again at his dad, his mind racing, his eyes widening as he took in the defeated hunch of his father’s shoulders, “They got out.” He whispered and Noah nodded slowly, blinking back tears as Stiles froze in place.

“They got bail. Their trial is in a couple of weeks, but, until then, they’re out.” 

“What!?” Derek asked angrily finally catching up with what was going on, how the hell could they let Heather and Finn out? After what they’d done!?

“What’s going on? Who got out?” Scott asks, all eyes were on Stiles, he was trembling, his fists clenched tightly at his sides, his face pale, lips pressed together in a thin line.

“We won’t let them get anywhere near you Stiles. I promise, you’re safe.” Noah said, reaching out and resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Derek grabbed his jacket from the coat rack and moved towards the door and Noah nodded at him, no doubt able to see his intentions on his face, Derek would kill them, would make sure they never got the chance to hurt Stiles or anyone else again.

“Derek. Stop.” Stiles sighed heavily and Derek stilled in his tracks. “Don’t kill them. Don’t. They’re human.”

“What they did to you wasn’t fucking human.” Derek spat angrily. 

“Yes it was. It was. They are human, Derek. They will be punished by human laws. Just, leave it. Leave them.” Stiles replied and Derek almost vibrated with anger at the sound of defeat in Stiles’ voice, it made his eyes flash and his claws extend from his fingers. They attacked a member of his pack, they tried to rape a member of his pack, more than that, they tried to rape Stiles, the one person who he trusted implicitly, the one person who would always be there for him no matter what. They had to pay for that. He’d let them live before, he wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

“Heather and Finn are out!?” Lydia exclaimed angrily, “What? How did this happen? How was there not enough evidence to keep them in jail until the trial!?”

“They are underage, the evidence won’t be taken into account until the trial, at present they are two children who have no priors and no suggestion that they could be a danger to anyone in the future.” Noah paused, meeting Stiles’ eyes, “Their lawyer has put forward the case that you took drugs before they got here, that the two of them were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and misunderstood the situation, that you, that you wanted…” Noah’s voice trailed off and whatever colour was left in Stiles’ face vanished, he looked like he was about to be sick.

“What? He’s trying to suggest that Stiles wanted the shit kicking out of him!? I think they need to get a better lawyer, my dad could tear that case apart in a second.” Jackson scoffed and Stiles nodded numbly, his mind racing as he thought about that night, about what they’d done, about how terrified and helpless he’d felt. 

“No. Not that – not the injuries.” Noah muttered uncertainly and Jackson looked confused, he glanced around, glad to see everyone else seemed just as lost, apart from Lydia and Derek. Stiles had turned back towards the kitchen table, the one that he had refused to sit down at since he’d arrived home from the hospital and took a heavy breath.

“Dad means that they’re saying I wanted to have, that I wanted sex with them.” Stiles said, his voice barely shaking, silence falling in the room as they processed what he said. Surprisingly it was Peter that spoke first, his eyes glowing blue and his claws already out and ready to tear through anything in his path.

“Did they…”

“No. Derek got here before, they were, and I didn’t, it was, it was close.” Stiles whispered and Peter growled. 

“I’m going to fucking kill them.” He snarled, the growl echoing around the room as the rest of the pack joined in. 

“No. I told you, they are human. They’ll be judged by human standards.”

“They tried to rape you Stiles!” Scott said angrily and Stiles turned around suddenly glaring at him.

“You think I don’t know that!? You think I don’t think about it? See it every time I close my eyes? Every time I look at my bed or the kitchen table? Do you think I don’t wish that I hadn’t been so fucking stupid as to trust them? You have no idea. No idea at all. I sat there and I drank that freaking drink and I was an idiot, a fucking idiot, and I couldn’t do anything. Nothing at all. You think I don’t want to watch them die painfully and slowly and for me to be the last thing they see? That I don’t want to watch them suffer and feel as helpless as I felt? But I can’t kill them and neither can you, any of you. They are human. We don’t kill humans.” Stiles ranted, his cheeks flushed red with his anger, his fists still clenched tightly at his side, his hands still trembling but there was something about his anger, about his words, that made all of them pause in their quest for revenge. Stiles was right. They were human. Their actions were despicable, the worst of humanity, but, they were still human and that was what they had to remember.

“Did you know about this!?” Erica asked Lydia who had somehow managed to remain calm through the entire conversation. Lydia nodded and Stiles stared at her in surprise, obviously waiting for an explanation.

“I saw the bruises in the hospital.” She shifted uncomfortably, “It was obvious that they were, that they weren’t the kind of bruises you’d get from someone kicking or punching you. I had my suspicions, I confronted Derek, he admitted it was true.” Lydia said quietly, she was tense, as if she expected Stiles to lash out at her, or for any of the rest of the pack to yell at her for not telling them. 

“Lydia Martin, smartest girl in the world.” Stiles said, giving her a tight smile before returning to the map on the wall, “How about you help me figure out what I’m missing with this case then?” Stiles asked breaking the tension in the room. 

“They need to pay for this.” Peter growled quiet enough that only the wolves would hear. “They cannot get away with hurting a member of our pack like this, they cannot get away with hurting Stiles like this, he’s, he’s the best of us.” Peter muttered and Derek turned to stare at his uncle in curiosity, he wondered when Peter had become attached to Stiles but it didn’t surprise him, Stiles grew on you, got under your skin, made you want to be better. 

“They won’t get away with it.” Derek replied, “If the trial doesn’t give Stiles justice then we will. Understand?” There were several nods around the room from the wolves, although they all looked frustrated, like they wanted to act now, punish them now, make them pay. Derek glanced at Stiles where he and Lydia were going through all the day-to-day activities of the victims, Stiles seemingly trying to forget about Finn and Heather for the time being, his hands still clenched in fists at his side despite his relaxed appearance. They would pay for this.


	6. Chapter 6

Things were quiet for the next few days, Stiles was finally well enough to go back to school, Derek had sort of hoped that he could have spent some time alone with him, talk to him, find out how he was feeling, but, no, Stiles went back to school with the rest of the pack and Derek and Peter kept up the search for the creature, still having no luck. 

Stiles had a panic attack when he saw Finn and Heather in the cafeteria, apparently keeping them out of school was a violation of their rights so they were allowed to come back to school until the trial. Stiles hadn’t known that, wished he’d known that so he could have prepared himself, instead he’d entered the cafeteria with Scott and Boyd and seen them sat at one of the tables with several people hovering around them and talking to them. Scott and Boyd had steered him towards the main entrance where the rest of the pack had just entered and Stiles had struggled to keep his breathing under control when he met Finn’s gaze and he fucking grinned. 

Erica, Allison and Jackson moved forward as one, approaching the table with murder in their eyes, Finn and Heather looked understandably nervous and the crowd gathered as if waiting to see them come to blows, instead Erica bent low over the table, met their gaze and smiled ferally. 

“I believe you had the pleasure of meeting our friend Derek.” She said, allowing her eyes to flash gold as Jackson’s flashed blue behind her, nobody else seemed to notice but Finn and Heather both paled. “You stay the hell away from Stiles. You even look in his direction and I will gut you.” She stood up, an evil grin still on her lips as Allison sat down on the opposite side of the table to them and glared at them.

“And I’ll make that look like child’s play.” She threatened, allowing the huntress she was to shine through, letting them see how dangerous she was without any weapons, there were too many people around to threaten them clearly but she still wanted them to know that they weren’t safe, they would never be safe again and they would pay. “Stiles doesn’t want us to kill you, but, trust me, he’s the only thing standing between you and a gruesome, painful death so if I were you, I wouldn’t upset him, in fact, I would make damn sure that I stayed away from him and all of us, if you value your life at all.” She said before turning to Erica and Jackson and smiling brightly. “Ready to go guys?” Erica nodded but Jackson glared at Finn and Heather, his fists clenched tightly around his claws.

“You touch him, speak to him, look at him, you are dead. You understand me?” He growled threateningly and Finn and Heather both gulped before they nodded quickly, “Now get the fuck out of here, before I change my mind and decide to just kill you now.”

“You wouldn’t.” Finn stammered and Jackson glared at him.

“You think it wouldn’t be worth going to prison to make sure that you two never get the chance to hurt anyone else again? Besides, I have an in with the police department and the district attorney, I bet you I could kill you both right now with all these witnesses and not spend a day behind bars, but, I’d be more than willing to, if it came to protecting Stiles from you, so, please, test my patience.” Jackson snarled, eyes flashing blue for just a second before Heather and Finn both jumped out of their seats and ran from the cafeteria the crowd gaping at the three pack members in shock. 

“So, um, what happened to Stilinski? I heard they did a pretty good number on him?” One of the guys from the lacrosse team asked and Jackson clenched his fists tighter.

“Yeah they did and he doesn’t want to talk about it. Anyone asks him about it, anyone upsets him and you deal with me.”

“With us.” Erica chipped in and Allison smirked as the entire crowd seemed to nod as one before turning away and going to their own tables to discuss what had just happened. 

It took Scott fifteen minutes to get Stiles to breathe through his panic attack, he’d witnessed enough of them after Stiles’ mom died but he hadn’t had to deal with one in years, Stiles had always held it together, no matter what, he was the stable one in their relationship, to see him like this, to see him falling apart in a similar way to how he had done after his mom, well, it made Scott want to kill Heather and Finn, the sight of them had Stiles falling apart, struggling to breathe despite the fact they’d been across the cafeteria at the time, god, Scott couldn’t bear this, couldn’t bear to see Stiles go through this, to see him suffer like this because of them, they needed to pay, he needed to watch them bleed and scream and beg for mercy. His wolf was howling for vengeance for his best friend, for his brother, and Scott didn’t even want to try and fight it, he wanted vengeance just as badly, he could imagine Stiles drugged up and lying on his bed, imagine him begging them to stop and they didn’t, wouldn’t, if Derek hadn’t been there, fuck, it didn’t even bear thinking about. 

“Stiles, just breathe, okay, count with me, three, four and out, two, three four.” He said, trying to keep his voice as calm and soothing as he could and not express the rage he was feeling. “You’re doing great Stiles, I’m right here with you, just keep breathing with me.” Scott pressed himself against Stiles’ back, resting a hand on his chest and making sure Stiles could feel the rise and fall of Scott’s chest until slowly, ever so slowly, Stiles’ breathing returned to normal. 

They were sat on the ground at the far end of the car park where nobody would accidently see them, the furthest that Scott could get Stiles away from the cafeteria before he collapsed, the pack had gathered around them, effectively blocking Stiles and Scott from view which they both really appreciated, Stiles turning slightly towards Scott, he wasn’t sure which one of them initiated the hug first but in an instant they were hugging, Scott clutching tightly to Stiles as tears rolled down both their cheeks, Scott hating to see Stiles hurting like this and Stiles allowing himself to fall apart for just a second. 

Within moments the entire pack had crowded around them, forming a puppy pile with Scott and Stiles at the centre, Scott thought it felt kind of good, he could understand the benefit of having a pack like this, it made him want to make this work, wanted to earn Derek’s forgiveness and become part of the pack properly, not just because he was Stiles’ friend, but because they wanted him too.

They stayed like that for the rest of the lunch break, Stiles finally clearing his throat when the warning bell went.

“As great as this is, I think we need to get back to class.” Stiles said, his voice cracking slightly as he spoke for the first time since before lunch. 

“We don’t have to, if you want to we can ditch for the afternoon, go get some ice cream, go to the park, throw some ball, whatever you want dude.” Scott replied quietly and Stiles looked at him with astonishment, as if unable to believe that Scott would be offering to ditch school for him.

“With your grades, it’s probably a better idea that we don’t ditch.” Stiles said, forcing his voice to sound light, trying to get them all to forget about the complete breakdown he’d just had, he didn’t want them to see how weak he was, he had wanted to be strong, he had wanted to get through this without them all looking at him with pity and now he’d messed that up completely.

Classes weren’t so bad, yeah everybody was looking at him, studying him as if they could still see the damage caused although the bruises on his face had healed now, even if the one over his bandaged ribs still throbbed from time to time, Stiles tried his best to ignore them, at least nobody had approached him and outright asked him about it, he wasn’t sure how he’d handle that, it was one thing the pack knowing, hell, he hadn’t really wanted to tell them, he sure as hell didn’t want to talk about it with anyone else.

He was coping, or at least attempting to cope, attempting to move forward, believe in the justice system, believe that things would work out. It helped that the pack were always around, he wasn’t sure how he’d handle being in the house by himself and his dad was still working a lot, he’d convinced Derek and Peter to go out when he was still off school, he didn’t tell them that he’d had a panic attack the first few times he was left alone, he knew that would only make them all worry even more than they already were. 

He didn’t want to feel like he was such a burden to them but he saw the looks they gave him sometimes, the side glances when he thought they couldn’t see them, he knew he wasn’t as strong as them or as invincible, in fact, this whole mess had only made him feel more human than any time before, even with Gerard he’d felt strong, like he had a purpose, he was protecting his pack, he could handle whatever Gerard and his goons did to him because Stiles was the only thing standing between them and the pack and he would have died if it was necessary. This, the assault, there was no purpose behind it, it wasn’t him defending or protecting anybody, it wasn’t him throwing himself into dangerous situations because his friends needed him, this was someone he’d known since he was a child drugging him and trying to rape him and he didn’t understand why, there was no reason behind it. Other than the fact he was a virgin there was no other reason for them to pick him, surely he wasn’t the only virgin in town? They could have chosen someone else. 

Wasn’t that just the worst fucking thought? Stiles hated that he wished they’d picked someone else. He didn’t want this to happen to anyone else, didn’t want anyone else to feel like this, and at least Derek had been here for him, if they’d picked someone else then they might not have been as lucky as Stiles. He should be glad it was him, well, not glad, that was the wrong word, more like, he should be grateful to Derek for saving him, he should feel relieved that Derek had stopped them and made sure that they don’t have the chance to do it to anybody else by making sure they were arrested. 

His hope that things were going to be okay were dashed on Saturday morning when his dad returned home after a long night at the station and looked more exhausted than Stiles had even seen him before. He looked away from the map still pinned on the board, taking in his dad’s shattered appearance and the way that Derek, Peter, Jackson and Isaac trailed in behind him like they were dead on their feet, Stiles knew there had been another murder last night, his dad had called around eleven to say that they’d found another body and could the wolves come out to see if they could track the scent. The four of them had left quickly while the rest stayed at the house, Derek ordering them to stay there and to stay safe, they hadn’t heard anymore from them since then but the defeated slump of their shoulders told Stiles it wasn’t good news.

He’d only been awake about half an hour, the rest of the pack were still asleep in the living room but Stiles had woken up and grabbed himself a slice of toast before returning to his work from the night before, he had to figure this out, he knew he was missing something, he just had to work harder, he had to think, he couldn’t let anyone else die. 

“Stiles.” Noah said quietly and Stiles sighed, it was going to be really shit news, he knew that, especially considering none of the wolves would meet his eyes.

“Who is it?” Stiles asked, knowing that the only reason they would be reacting like this was because it was someone he knew, god, what if it was Melissa? No. Scott would have been told by now, it couldn’t be her. She was safe, she had to be.

“Why don’t we sit down?” Noah suggested and Stiles frowned at him.

“Dad, tell me.” Stiles said forcefully. 

“Heather. It was Heather.” Isaac blurted out and Stiles sucked in a sharp breath, Heather was dead? That couldn’t be possible. She was supposed to stand trial, she was supposed to pay for what she’d done. 

“The murder, it was the same m.o. as the others?” Stiles asked, not wanting to believe that one of the wolves had taken his justice away from him but having to ask anyway. 

“Yeah, a spear or something similar through the chest, no fibres left behind, no evidence of whatever the weapon is. No doubt about it, it was the same killer.” Noah explained quietly.

“I want to see.” Stiles said, his mind racing, unable to believe that Heather was dead.

“I don’t think…” Peter began.

“I want to see the body. Now.” Stiles replied angrily, moving to grab his jacket and slipping a knife into the back of his jeans, he didn’t expect to need it, but things had changed in the past year, Gerard was out there, whatever was killing people was out there, he didn’t want to be caught unawares. He moved towards the door, Isaac and Jackson both looking to Derek who seemed too tired to even keep his eyelids open, but Stiles couldn’t think about that now, he had to see Heather’s body, he had to see that she was dead.

Derek stepped out of Stiles’ path with a heavy sigh and Noah followed him towards the door, resting a hand quickly on Derek’s shoulder and squeezed it.

“I’ll keep him safe, I promise. You should rest, all of you.” Noah instructed, moving after Stiles as the wolves moved towards the sleeping pack, lying down and quickly drifting into sleep. Derek knew he should be going with Noah and Stiles but he could barely keep his legs from collapsing, he was exhausted, it felt like they’d covered the entire town last night and still they hadn’t been able to find whatever this thing was, he felt useless and helpless and in the meantime the bodies just kept piling up. He needed to stop this thing but first he needed to sleep. 

Stiles stared at the body on the table, it was Heather, they hadn’t lied about that, not that he thought they would have done, but this all just seemed so unreal, how was she dead? Why was she dead? How was this thing picking its victims? 

He must have been stood there a while, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away, Heather had hurt him, she’d attacked him, assaulted him, broken his trust, but, he’d known her his whole life, he still remembered the times they’d talked when they were younger, before his mom, before all of that, she had been his friend, maybe even his best friend before Scott came along, and, well, he’d wanted to believe that she hadn’t wanted to do this to him. He’d wanted to believe that it was all Finn’s idea and she just went along with it because she was afraid of him or something, now he’d never know, he’d never get to find out if she was the guilty party or just another innocent caught up in all this mess. It made him want to cry with outrage, he’d wanted justice and this thing, whatever it was, had taken that from him. It wasn’t fair. 

“Kiddo? You okay?” Noah asked from the other side of the table when he saw the tears filling Stiles’ eyes. 

“Fine.” Stiles said, swiping at his eyes angrily.

“It’s okay, if you’re not, I mean, if you’re not okay about all of this, or any of this, then that’s okay, I don’t expect…you don’t need to pretend…if you need time or need to talk or not talk or anything, I’m here, whatever you need.” Noah rambled, looking pained that nothing he said seemed to come out right, that he needed to be there for his son right now and he couldn’t even get that right. 

“I’m okay dad. Honestly. I’m just, I wanted, I wanted justice and any chance I had of it is gone now.” Stiles replied stiffly as he pulled the sheet back over Heather’s body and moved towards the doorway, pausing and glancing back at the body, his mind racing, it couldn’t be that, could it? It couldn’t be so simple? 

“What’s going on Stiles?” Noah asked, seeing the dawning realization on his son’s face.

“I need to use your computer at the station, I need to check something.” Stiles said, practically dragging his dad from the room.

“Okay, okay, tell me what’s going on.” Noah said, following Stiles out of the morgue to the car park and throwing himself into the driver’s seat with renewed energy, if Stiles had the answer, if he knew what this thing was then maybe they had a chance to take it out before it killed anyone else, even if he couldn’t find it in himself to be sad about its latest victim. 

“I don’t know, not yet, not for definite. I just, I need to check something. Just, I promise, I’ll tell you once I know.” Stiles rambled nervously, tapping his fingers against his leg in agitation as his mind raced, maybe, just maybe, he could figure this out, if he knew how it chose its victims then maybe they could figure out what it was and how to stop it. 

They arrived at the station within a few minutes and Stiles headed into his father’s office, sitting behind the desk and unlocking the computer while Noah stared at him in amazement.

“How did you get my password?”

“Puhlease dad, I know all your passwords.” Stiles dismissed, logging onto the database and pulling up the files on all the victims so far, jotting down their names on a piece of paper next to the computer to make sure he didn’t forget anyone. 

“So? What do you think?” Noah asked a few minutes later.

“I don’t know, I need some time, can you go get me a coffee please? I just need to check some things.” Stiles said quickly, flicking between the files with speed, checking and re-checking the information. 

“Sure.” Noah said quietly, disappearing from the office and heading towards the coffee machine, he knew what Stiles was like when he got like this, he could spend hours staring at the screen until it gave him the answers he was looking for, and Noah didn’t want to push him. Instead he poured Stiles a mug of coffee, took it back in to him and then left him in there, wandering around the station and checking on the deputies that were on shift. He was exhausted, he couldn’t even remember when he last slept so he found a reasonably comfortable seat, sat down, and closed his eyes, slipping into sleep easier than he thought.

Noah was awoken by the screech of tyres and the sound of his deputies shouting in astonishment, he jerked upright, looking around and seeing the open door to his office, his dashed forward, one of the deputies shouting that Stiles had taken the cruiser, something inside Noah already knew that but he had to see it for himself, the office was empty and Stiles was gone. Dread curled in his stomach as he pulled his phone out and hurried towards the computer, hoping that Stiles would at least have left a clue as to where he was going. 

“Derek!” Noah said quickly as soon as the call connected, “Stiles is gone. He’s taken the cruiser and he’s gone.” 

“Alright, calm down, gone where?” Derek said sounding like he was struggling to remain calm even as he told Noah to do exactly that. 

“I don’t know…” Noah said, trailing off when he saw Finn’s record up on the screen, what did he have to do with the murders? It didn’t make any sense. He glanced around, there was a piece of paper with the names of the victims so far, Stiles had scrawled something next to each name, sometimes it was a name, sometimes it was ‘stepdaughter’ or ‘student’ or ‘nephew’ it didn’t make any sense and Noah was confused, then he read to the bottom and saw Heather’s name where Stiles had hastily scrawled, ‘me’. What the hell was going on? Noah was so god damn confused. “I think he went after Finn, his file is open, it shows his home address.”

“Alright, give it to me, we’ll meet you there.” Derek said, the sound of the pack rushing into action obvious in the background. Noah gave them the address as he left the office, stuffing the piece of paper into his pocket, snatching a pair of keys from the hook and heading to a secondary cruiser, telling the deputies not to worry and that he had it handled. 

Stiles slammed on the brakes outside of Finn’s house, glad to see the boy in question on his driveway staring at Stiles with wide eyes. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Finn snapped and Stiles glared at him.

“For some fucking reason, I’m here to save your life. You need to come with me.” Stiles said quickly, gesturing to the cruiser behind him and glancing around nervously, he didn’t know how much time they had. 

“Sure thing, like I’m going to go anywhere with you, not when you’ve got those monsters for friends, I’d rather stay alive if I’m honest.” Finn scoffed, “Now, if you’re here because you want a repeat, well, that’s fine, I’ll skip the drugs this time, let you put up more of a fight if you prefer? I mean, Heather didn’t want you to fight, I think that’s because she wanted to believe you’d enjoy yourself but I’m not that fussed about that.” He said taking a step towards him and Stiles flinched backwards.

“Come near me and I’ll fucking kill you myself, no need for the monsters.” Stiles said angrily, still glancing around looking for anybody that looked even the slightest bit suspicious, thankfully the street was empty for the time being, but he couldn’t guarantee how long that would last. “Look, I want you to stay alive so you can stand trial for being a sick fuck, why the hell would I kill you before you can pay for what you’ve done? Just, I’m trying to save your life so, just, just get in the damn car!”

Finn opened his mouth to reply, a smirk on his lips, when suddenly there was a loud pop from behind Stiles and his eyes went wide in shock. Stiles turned around and stared, there was a man walking towards them, dressed in leather jacket, short dark hair and piercing blue eyes that were focused on Finn. His distinguishing feature however wasn’t the fact that he had just popped into existence but that his right hand wasn’t a hand, it was a lance, like the knights in jousting competitions used to use, Stiles stared at it in surprise, the knife in the back of his jeans felt suddenly tiny in comparison, how the hell was he supposed to take this thing down with a freaking pen knife when he had a giant horn for a hand!?

The man took a step forwards and Stiles turned, putting himself between Finn and the mystery creature, it felt so wrong, having Finn behind him, it made him feel sick, but, he was still a human and he deserved to stand trial for his actions, this wasn’t right. He held his hands up in a pacifying gesture, hoping to get the creature to stop in its tracks, it looked at Stiles in concern and stopped and Stiles tried not to grin at the small victory.

“Hey, hey buddy, look, I don’t know what you are or why you’re doing this, but, okay, you need to stop.” Stiles began and the creature glared at him, “Alright, alright, god knows I want him dead, I do, really, truly I do. But, that’s not how things work. He’s human. He gets a trial. He gets punishment. Okay, that’s how this works.” Stiles said, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw Derek’s car come flying around the corner followed quickly by Jackson’s and Peter’s and then another cruiser, they were here. They would be able to help.

The creature turned to look at the convoy of cars that were squealing to a stop as the pack spilled out of them, it took another step towards Finn and Stiles backed up, holding his hands up still, hating that he was even closer to Finn, it felt so fucking wrong. 

“Okay, I get what you’re doing, I know that you think you’re doing the right thing…” Stiles began.

“Stiles, what the hell are you doing!? Get out of his way!” Derek hissed angrily, moving to grab Stiles and freezing when the creature raised the lance in his direction. He flashed his eyes at the creature that was stopping him from getting to Stiles, Stiles was in danger and it was making him wolf pace restlessly, wanted to tear this creature from limb from limb but he’d have to get Stiles out of the way first. 

“Hey man, it’s okay.” Stiles said reassuringly to the man in front of them and Derek scowled, was Stiles insane!? “Look, it’s alright, I get it, I do. But you have to stop.” 

“He hurt you.” The man growled, the first words that he had spoken since his sudden appearance minutes before, his voice was softer, sweeter than Stiles had expected, almost protective and he felt himself relax just slightly, hoping that the pack would realise they needed to stay out of this if they didn’t want the situation to escalate.

“Yeah, I know he did, I know, but, you don’t get to punish him for that.” Stiles agreed.

“Hang on, you’re telling me this freak wants to kill me because I had a little fun with you?” Finn said and growls echoed from the pack surrounding them, the creature taking another step forward and Stiles backing up a little more. 

“Shut the fuck up.” Stiles hissed, did this idiot not realise that Stiles was the only thing standing between him and certain death?

“What? You think this guy is going to kill me because of what we did? It’s not like I raped you, I didn’t even get to fuck you!” Finn shouted and there was another round of growls, Noah taking his gun out and pointing it in their general direction, Stiles wasn’t sure if he was pointing it at the creature or at Finn and his face gave nothing away.

“Ignore him.” Stiles said dismissively, still trying to placate the creature, “Listen to me, he’ll get what he deserves, he will, just, through the human courts, through their justice systems, please, please just stop this, stop doing this.” 

“He hurt you, she hurt you, they deserve to die.” The creature replied coldly. 

“I know.” Stiles said calmly, ignoring the looks of shock on the pack’s face, noticing the way his dad’s face as the realisation washed over him, the murders, the victims, they hurt people. Noah pulled the paper from his pocket, staring at the names Stiles had scrawled, the first victim, he’d been convicted of rape and murder of a young woman three years ago, he’d serve eighteen months. The second victim had been a teacher who had been accused of a relationship with an underage student, nothing was ever proven, the charges were dropped and she was allowed to continue teaching. The third, his step-daughter had disappeared under mysterious circumstances and nobody had seen her since. The list went on and on, it made Noah pale because how could he have missed it? How could he not have realised?

“All of the victim’s, they hurt somebody?” Noah asked for clarification and the creature nodded, his eyes never leaving Finn’s. 

“They hurt those that are most precious to us.” The creature clarified and the pack looked to Noah for clarification.

“Virgins?” Noah asked and both Stiles and the creature nodded. “Oh god, oh god, they were all, and, god, they got away with it, I had no idea…”

“It’s not your fault dad. People have secrets, you couldn’t have known.” Stiles reassured him, still not looking away from the creature in front of him. 

“Jesus, fuck, I’m sorry, god, I’m so sorry.” 

“Dad. It. Is. Not. Your. Fault.” Stiles said through gritted teeth. 

“So what? You’re going to let this thing kill me just because Stiles is a virgin? What if he hadn’t been? Would it still be coming after me then?” Finn asked sounding, for the first time, rightly terrified. 

“We both know you wouldn’t have come anywhere near me if I wasn’t a fucking virgin.” Stiles spat out angrily and the creature almost flinched backwards from his anger. Stiles knew then that he was safe, he was a virgin, apparently the most precious thing to whatever this thing was, that meant it wouldn’t hurt him, so long as he stayed between it and Finn, they had a chance of making it out of here alive.

“That’s not true.” Derek said suddenly and Stiles was so surprised that he actually glanced across to look at the Alpha.

“What!?” 

“They didn’t do it because you are a virgin Stiles, that was just an added bonus for them. They would have done it either way, he told me so himself.” Derek explained and Stiles paused, he was shocked, couldn’t make sense of it, the whole reason was because he’d been a virgin, he knew that, that was the only thing that he’d been definite about. 

“Step aside and let me make this right.” The man said and Stiles frowned.

“No. He isn’t worth this, he doesn’t deserve to die, he deserves to be punished, deserves to see justice.” Stiles argued, taking another step backwards, closer to Finn, when the creature took another step forward. 

“I will show him justice.” 

“No, not that kind of justice, please, you have to stop. You can’t just keep killing people. That’s not how this works.” Stiles pleaded. “Please, what do you want? What can we do to get you to stop?” 

“I won’t stop. Not until all those responsible have been punished.” He took another step forward and Stiles backed up again, flinching when he felt Finn brush against him. 

“You can’t, you can’t kill me. I didn’t even fuck him. I didn’t, you can’t kill me, not because of this.” Finn said. 

“You see nothing wrong with your actions?” The man asked and Finn flinched. 

“Yes, yes of course I do. I shouldn’t have done it. I’m sorry.”

“Those are lies, I can hear your heart beating and you are lying. You wanted it, you wanted to do it, you wanted to hurt him.” The man said and Finn paled, looking sick to his skin, glancing to Noah and the gun in his hand.

“Do something! Shoot him! Don’t let him kill me!” Finn shouted desperately.

“I imagine your bullets would be as effective on me as they would be on your pack of wolves.” The man replied, “But, if you want to risk putting your son in the line of fire in a useless attempt to kill me, then please, go ahead.” Noah hesitated before lowering the gun completely and glancing at the pack for help, “Your wolves will be as useless as your gun, they won’t be able to stop me before I kill him.” Derek growled and flashed his eyes but made no attempt at moving forwards, unwilling to put Stiles in any more danger. 

“You can’t…you can’t let him do this! Do something!” Finn shouted and Stiles flinched at his voice, god, the sound of it made him feel sick and yet he had to try to protect him, he was human. He moved his hand slowly towards the knife in the back of his trousers, not sure what he was going to be able to with it but knowing he had to something, he had to try. Any thoughts or plans he might have been thinking were quickly thrown out of the window when Finn’s arm wrapped around his chest and pulled Stiles flush against him. 

“Hey!” Stiles cried in outrage, echoing shouts coming from the pack to ‘let go’ or ‘get off him’ or, in Derek’s case, a dangerous low growl and eyes that were glowing red. 

“Shut up! Shut up!” Finn shouted and everyone fell silent, “Now, this is how it’s going to work, Stiles and I are going to leave, completely unharmed, and once we’re a safe distance away you’re going to kill whatever the fuck this thing is and then, maybe, I’ll give him back to you in one piece.” Finn said, pulling Stiles a little tighter to him and humming happily, “After we get rid of his pesky virginity of course.” Stiles saw red, his anger taking over at the very thought of Finn ever touching him again, he moved as slowly as he dared, his fingers wrapping around the knife, as soon as he had a hold of it he moved quickly, slamming it into Finn’s thigh without a second’s hesitation and spinning around to face him. 

He felt another presence at his back, someone was right behind him but he couldn’t think about that right now, instead he was staring at Finn who had stilled, his eyes going wide and blood forming at the corner of his mouth. Stiles stared in shock, what the hell was going on? He looked down slowly, as if he was trapped in some kind of nightmare, and saw the lance going clean through his chest. Stiles saw the light fade from Finn’s eyes as the creature withdrew the lance and Stiles reached out instinctively to stop Finn’s body from collapsing to the ground, going with him, lowering him to the ground gently, respectfully. 

“What…no…why…what did you do?” Stiles muttered in shock, god, no, he couldn’t, this couldn’t be happening. The creature was resting a hand on his shoulder and Stiles could hear the growls from the pack nearby, he turned away from Finn’s body, turned to look at the creature that had done this, unable to believe that he’d murdered Finn, destroyed any chance Stiles had of getting justice. 

“Come, I’ll protect you.” The man said, before Stiles could open his mouth to protest, before anybody could do anything, the man’s grip tightened and he pulled Stiles back to his feet. Noah was shouting, Derek was growling, stepping forward as if to grab Stiles and pull him free, before everything seemed to still, almost slow down to a complete stop. Stiles opened his mouth to say something, to call out for help, before there was a pressure like he was being squeezed too tightly and everything went black.

Derek had watched helplessly as Finn had grabbed Stiles, as that thing had stabbed Finn and the look of complete and utter shock on Stiles’ face, as if he was unable to comprehend what had just happened. The creature had grabbed onto Stiles’ shoulder, pulled him to his feet and Derek had lunged forward, ready to grab Stiles and pull him to safety even if it meant leaving himself defenceless. There was a loud pop and Stiles and the man both vanished, Derek falling through the empty space and hitting the ground hard before he turned over, looking terrified, meeting the gaze of the pack who were all equally as stunned.

“Stiles!” Noah called out in shock, stumbling forward as if unable to believe that Stiles was gone, “Where is he? Where did they go? Where’s my son?” 

“I…what…where…I don’t know.” Derek finally managed to stammer out, god, Stiles, that thing had Stiles, what if it hurt him? What if it killed him? Jesus, fuck, he couldn’t, he couldn’t lose Stiles too, he just, he couldn’t. 

“He’ll be okay.” Peter said reassuringly and the entire pack stared at him in complete disgust.

“You don’t know that, you have no idea, what if that thing decides Stiles is more trouble than he’s worth!?” Scott shouts sounding terrified, “We need to, to search for him or something, there must be a scent, right? We can, we can track the scent and then we can, we’ll find him.” 

“What scent Scott? Do you smell something we don’t? There’s no scent!” Erica shouted aggressively and Scott flinched backwards. 

“All of you calm down!” Peter shouted authoritatively and smirked when everyone fell silent, “That thing said virgins were precious to them, he wasn’t going to hurt Stiles, he didn’t go on the attack until Finn grabbed Stiles, and that was to protect him, I think Stiles will be safe with it, with him, at least for the time being, until we figure something out, until we know what that thing was and know how to kill it.” 

“What if you’re wrong?” Lydia asked in a small voice, “What if it meant that virgins are precious in the sense that they like, sacrifice them or something?” Everyone paled, including Peter.

“No, no, we can’t think like that. We have to believe that whatever it was, he wants to keep Stiles safe. I refuse to believe anything else.” Noah said angrily. “Stiles is going to be fine, he’s always fine, right? He’s been through worse, he’s nearly died before, a bunch of times if I understand correctly, so, this, whatever this is, it’s nothing, he can handle it until we find him, I know he can. He’s strong.” Derek wasn’t sure if Noah was trying to convince them or himself, but he knew what the man was trying to do and he needed the hope just as much as Noah did.

“You’re right. Stiles is smart, he’ll hold on until we find him.” Derek agreed.

“How are we going to find him? That thing, whatever it was, it freaking teleported him, how are we supposed to find him?” Erica asked desperately, clinging to Boyd like he was the only thing that was keeping her grounded, Boyd looking almost pained at the thought of Stiles being in danger, Derek hadn’t realised just how much his betas had come to care for Stiles, he wanted to reassure them but at the moment all he could do was try to hold himself together.

Noah called in Finn’s murder, giving the deputies a description of the creature, avoiding mentioning the fact that the guy had a freaking horn for a hand, and explaining that the man had kidnapped Stiles. He warned them not to approach as the man was armed and dangerous but that if anyone saw them they were to call Noah immediately. 

The pack split up into the cars, driving around town with the windows down as they listened for any sound or scent or hope that Stiles was nearby. They had no luck, the longer they drove the more Derek’s wolf howled with grief and loss, Stiles was theirs, they needed him, he couldn’t be gone, it wasn’t fair. 

They’d looked for thirty-six hours straight, the search parameters getting further out the longer Stiles was missing, the town was abuzz with the news that the murderer had kidnapped the sheriff’s son, there had been a lot of calls to begin with, people who said that they thought they had seen Stiles, but it always turned out to be an empty lead and each time it crushed them a little more. They were all exhausted but none of them willing to quit, to stop looking, it felt too much like giving up.

“We should rest.” Peter said eventually, forty hours since Stiles had first disappeared, they were all crowded in the station, returning from another useless lead, the entire pack looking defeated and dead on their feet, Derek only glared at Peter in annoyance. “We’re not any good searching like this, we’re all too exhausted, we could miss a scent or a sound or something. And if we did somehow find this thing, would any of us be up to fighting it right now? We should rest, just for a few hours, and then we can get back to it.” 

“As much as I hate to say it, Peter’s right.” Noah sighed, “None of us are any good to Stiles like this, we need to rest, I’m going to go grab a few hours’ sleep at home, you’re all welcome to come with me, or go to your own homes, but you all need to sleep, we’ll meet back here tonight, but until then, go home, sleep.” Noah instructed firmly.

“Can we…” Isaac said, glancing wearily at Derek, “Can we go to Noah’s? Stay there? Together?”

“Yeah, yeah sure.” Derek said, wiping a hand across his eyes as if he could scrub his exhaustion away.

They made their way back to the house in convoy, all of them stumbling inside and collapsing on the sofa’s and floor, snuggling into whatever sheets still held Stiles’ scent. Derek knew the more time that passed the less likelihood that they would find Stiles, not just finding him alive but finding him at all and that thought was unbearable. He knew he would have nightmares but he couldn’t fight the need for sleep any longer, he closed his eyes and drifted off.


	7. Chapter 7

Stiles opened his eyes slowly, he was staring at a green blur, he blinked a few times glad when the leaves on the trees above him came into focus. He shifted his weight, groaning when his back ached in protest, he’d landed on his bag and it bloody hurt, he’d thought he’d gotten the hang of this by now. He lay there for a while, probably a few hours at least, maybe more if he was honest, the sun was well and truly in the sky when he blinked his eyes open again, it had taken him hours until his limbs stopped trembling and his head stopped spinning. He shifted around until he was sat upright, taking his backpack off and putting it on the ground next to him, taking a few minutes to analyse the situation, he didn’t think he was hurt, other than the ache in his back, he still had all his fingers and toes and when he stood up he didn’t sway too much, all in all it was a good day’s work. He was lying in the preserve, he’d guess it was about a mile from his dad’s house, or what was his dad’s house, god knows what he would find when he got there this time, maybe it would be like all the other times, that his dad would see him and not know who the hell he was, or worse, his dad wasn’t even there any longer. Worrying about it wasn’t going to help, he might as well just get it over with.

He picked up his backpack, slung it over his shoulder and headed off in the right direction at a brisk pace. He would be there in ten minutes, ten minutes and then he’d know, know if he had finally made it home or if this was just another pointless jump.

He came through the clearing in the back of the woods, seeing the back garden of the house, his house, well, at least it looked like his house this time, that was a start. He tightened his grip on the strap of his bag and took a step forward, he was nervous, terrified even, even if this was the right place he’d been gone so long, what if his dad had moved on? Left town? Died? God, he couldn’t bear to see that again. He had to hope this was real, had to hope he was home and, if not, he’d just have to jump to the next dimension, try again, always try again, never stop, not until he got home.

He walked up the steps to the back porch, his heart hammering so fast in his chest that he was sure it was going to burst out at any second, he took a deep breath, raising his shaking fist to knock on the back door when it was flung open.

Derek heard his heartbeat before anything else, he thought he was dreaming but it seemed to be getting louder, closer. He woke from his slumber and he could still hear that rabbit fast heartbeat, so close it was as if he was right outside the door. He stumbled to his feet, not caring that he kicked and tripped over several of the sleeping pack members, ignoring their protests as they mumbled and groaned their way back into consciousness. He practically threw himself at the back door, ripping it open and almost tearing it from its hinges. 

Stiles was standing on the back porch staring at him in surprise, he was wearing a pair of sturdy boots and dark jeans that were ripped and dirty, a t-shirt that might have been white once upon a time, a plaid over-shirt and a dark leather jacket, all of the clothes seemed to have seen better days, they’d obviously seen a lot of use. Derek drank it all in, the sight of Stiles, the scent of him, the sound of his heartbeat, Stiles looked almost as surprised as Derek felt, his mouth was open but he wasn’t saying anything, as if, for the first time in his life, he was speechless.

“Stiles.” Derek almost sobbed in relief, “You’re alive, you’re okay, oh god, are you okay? Are you hurt?” Derek asked, rushing forward and examining Stiles for any signs of injuries. 

“Derek?” Erica mumbled, stretching off the sofa and moving towards him still half asleep. They both saw the second she registered that Derek wasn’t alone on the porch. “Stiles!” She screamed in relief, flinging herself towards him and pulling him into a tight hug, her voice had been enough to wake the rest of the pack and suddenly everyone was rushing forward, grabbing onto Stiles tightly as if afraid that he would disappear again if they let go, Stiles giving them a small smile until finally his dad appeared and all the tension drained out of him. 

Stiles stepped forwards, his arms coming up and pulling his dad into a tight hug when Noah just stood there stunned.

“You’re okay? You’re here? You’re really here?” Noah asked sounding terrified, clutching Stiles tighter than any of the werewolves had, Stiles nodded repeatedly, burying his head in his dad’s shoulder and holding him tightly as they both sobbed. 

When they finally broke apart, what seemed like hours later, Noah swiped at his eyes and grinned at Stiles.

“I should call the station, let them know you’re home safe, call off the search.” Noah said moving towards the phone while Stiles stared at him in amazement.

“You were still searching for me?” Stiles asked sounding almost amazed.

“You don’t honestly think we’d stop searching for you after two days buddy, do you?” Scott asked and Stiles turned to look at him.

“Two days?” He asked, blinking at Scott like he’d lost his mind. 

“Yeah? Two days, well, actually, forty-six hours and eleven minutes if we’re being exact, so, of course we wouldn’t quit yet.” Scott replied and Derek glanced at him in surprise, he’d been so busy thinking about how this had affected him, affected Noah, that he hadn’t really thought about how much Scott or any of the rest of the pack must have been hurting. 

“Two days.” Stiles replied numbly, his legs seeming to collapse as he practically fell into the sofa. “That’s it? That’s all the time I’ve lost?” 

“Yeah of course Stiles.” Scott nodded earnestly, Stiles stared at him for a few moments before he jumped up and ran to the nearest mirror, staring at his reflection, running a hand along his cheek, pulling gently on his hair and his face splitting into a wide grin. 

“Holy shit! Holy fucking shit! I’m seventeen! I’m still fucking seventeen!” Stiles laughed and the pack all stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “Jesus! Fuck! Oh my god! This is, I mean, I just figured you’d all aged really well and like time was different there and stuff, but, no, I’m still seventeen, but, Christ, this is, holy, fuck.” 

“Stiles, you are kind of freaking me,” Lydia coughed pointedly, “Us, freaking us out here, what’s going on?” Scott asked, glancing at Derek as if to see if he knew what was going on. 

“One second.” Stiles said before he closed his eyes and promptly popped out of existence. 

“What the hell!?” “What on earth was that!?” “Where did he go!?” The pack all shouted in unison, Derek heard Stiles’ heartbeat reappear upstairs and he ran up the stairs taking them three at a time skidding to a stop when he saw Stiles staring around his bedroom in wonder, the rest of the pack almost crashing him in their haste to find out what was happening. 

“It’s all the same, exactly the freaking same.” Stiles muttered in surprise. 

“Stiles, how long do you think you were gone for?” Peter asked and everyone stilled, what had that monster done to Stiles? What had it done to make him think he’d been gone for so much longer than two days?

“I’m not sure, six, maybe seven years?” Stiles replied and everyone fell silent, what the fuck? 

“What the fuck?” Derek said, echoing everyone else’s thoughts. “What did he do to you? How did you escape? How the fuck did you just teleport? What the hell is going on Stiles!?” 

“Chill out dude, you’ll give your little werewolf brain an aneurism or something.” Stiles replied easily and Derek paused for a moment before striding forward and pulling a shocked Stiles into another hug.

“I’m so glad you are home.” Derek muttered and Stiles let out a stunned laugh.

“Missed you too big guy.” He grinned when Derek finally let go of him.

“Not wanting to break up the hugfest, but, can we talk about how Stiles just teleported from downstairs to up here? And why the hell he thinks he’s been gone seven years instead of two days?” Jackson asked and everyone looked to Stiles expectantly. 

“Alright, yeah, sure, can we, like, go downstairs? Sit down like civilised people? It’s, um, well, it’s kind of a long story?” Stiles explained and Noah nodded quickly.

“Of course, yeah, definitely.” Noah said, directing them all back down the stairs and Stiles following after them rather than teleporting back downstairs. They all sunk back into the seats, staring at Stiles who was sitting on the edge of the table as if he was ready to jump back to his feet at any second, he looked almost nervous, on edge, prepared for attack, and none of them liked it. 

“So…” Stiles sighed heavily.

“What happened to that creature? The murderer? How did you escape?” Scott asked quickly and Stiles let out a little laugh.

“I’m not sure you’d believe me even if I tell you.” Stiles mocked.

“Werewolves.” Erica said pointing to herself and Stiles grinned. 

“Yeah, sure, okay.” Stiles said, pursing his lips in thought, “Alright, okay, so, the guy, who is called Alfie by the way, he’s a, god you’re going to think I’m insane, he’s,” Stiles ran a hand through his hair, “He’s a unicorn.” 

“A unicorn?” Lydia asked sounding stunned.

“Yeah, who knew right? Well, um, unicorns are shapeshifters. So, there’s a couple of things you should know before I explain any further. I guess, I guess the first thing you need to know, is, well, this isn’t the only, there’s more than one, erm, dimension?” 

“What? What the hell are you talking about?” Isaac said in shock.

“Well, okay, so, when Alfie took me, we ended up in the preserve, a few miles from here. Obviously, I kicked and screamed and tried to put up a fight and obviously that didn’t work either.” Stiles began, “When he finally got me to calm down enough to listen to him, he explained, he explained that he’d been pulled across to this realm by a witch, god, I’m not saying this right. Alright, so, the first person Alfie killed, Adam Howarth, he raped and murdered a young virgin woman called Victoria Thomas, Victoria was a witch, or, at least, in practice to become one. When Adam attacked her, she couldn’t, didn’t know enough to protect herself, but, she managed to do something, a spell of some kind. Alfie isn’t exactly sure what it was but it was a call to him, for help. It pulled him out of his realm and into this one. When he arrived he shifted, to look vaguely human shaped, in an attempt to blend in. Because, you know, unicorn probably would have stood out pretty quickly.” 

“Okay, so where did it pull him from? What kind of realm was he living in?” Boyd asked quietly and Stiles smiled.

“It’s well, it’s a supernatural realm, I mean, everything that you think could be a myth, it exists over there, and, well, humans know about them too, there’s a lot more supernatural creatures there than humans, and it’s, it’s pretty damn gorgeous there, it’s all open and green and fresh and god, the sky is so blue, like, freakishly blue.” Stiles rambled.

“You went there? You’ve been there?” Peter asked in shock and Stiles nodded.

“Alfie, he explained that because the spell pulled him across, he needed help to get back. He couldn’t just jump back, not without help from someone,” Stiles sucked in a deep breath, “Someone, a virgin, actually, a virgin with a spark.”

“A spark? And you have a spark, do you?” Peter asked, he’d been absent (technically dead) when Deaton had revealed that piece of information and he hadn’t exactly made it public knowledge.

“What is a spark?” Noah asked.

“The way Alfie explained it, it’s someone who has the ability to do magic, with the right training. Deaton, of course, told me that I had to believe to be able to make the ash line but he never told me anything else, and Alfie said he could see my spark, that’s why he took me, because he wanted to go home and I was the only one that was going to be able to help him, or at least, the only one in the immediate vicinity, I’m sure there are plenty of other people out there that fit the requirements, but, anyway, he decided I would be the one to help him and I wanted to stop the murders and I figured it would be worth it, whatever it did to me. Alfie said that the spell wouldn’t allow him to stop punishing people while he was in this realm, I wanted him to stop, I wanted people to be allowed justice, and, well, I tried to escape obviously, and I told him how much I hated him for taking my justice away and all of that, but, eventually he wore me down, I wanted the murders to stop and the only way to do that was to help him get home.” 

“I can’t believe this, so, what, you’ll be able to do magic? If you have the right training?” Isaac asked and Stiles gave him a small smile.

“Kind of, I mean, I sort of already got the training? While I was in the other realm? With Alfie?” Stiles said nervously.

“So, you have magic now? You trained with a unicorn and now you have magic?” Noah asked and Stiles shook his head.

“Apparently, I always had magic, it’s just, now I know how to use it. I mean, it took me a while, but, yeah, I can do it now.” Stiles said awkwardly.

“You can do ‘it’ now? What is it? Teleporting?” Jackson asked and Stiles shrugged.

“Among other things.” Stiles admitted, holding his hand out in front of him, palm facing the ceiling and all of them staring in astonishment at the swirling, glowing blue ball that was forming there. “The dimension jumps were the hardest to figure out. They’re kind of high level magic. I mean, it’s not easy, but, I got there eventually, with Alfie’s help. We weren’t exactly sure what the spell would do, we kind of didn’t know that it’d pull me into the realm with him, and Alfie felt so guilty about it, we worked day and night to try and find a way for me to get back and when that failed Alfie trained me up, taught me everything he knew and when that still wasn’t enough I got creative with the books they kept in the library.”

“And then you found a way to make the jump back?” Erica asked sounding hopeful her eyes reflecting the blue of the ball in Stiles’ hand until he allowed it to fade.

“Um, yeah, I mean, the jumps from one place to another in the same dimension it’s no big deal, I can do that no issue, but, jumping from one dimension to another, it, there’s a lot of energy involved and it’s really tricky and that’s why it took Alfie so long to get here after Victoria was killed, because it’s really not simple, even with a spell pulling you along, and yeah, I, kind of, maybe, when I finally managed to do it, I sort of, overshot?” Stiles explained.

“Overshot? What the hell does that mean?” Noah squeaked.

“I, well, when I made the jump, I kind of, ended up somewhere else, not the supernatural realm and not here, it was, well, it was like here, but, it wasn’t, it was wrong.” Stiles muttered.

“Wrong? Wrong how?” Derek asked sounding panicked.

“Um well, people could see me, it wasn’t like I was a ghost or anything, but none of you knew who I was, and like, the pack didn’t exist, Derek was being a grumpy wolf all by himself, Peter was still the Alpha and still killing people, Scott was human and never got bitten, the list was endless. So, I knew I wasn’t in the right place, but, I had to wait, regain some energy before I could make the jump again, it took me a few weeks before I was in a fit state to make another jump.” 

“And then you got back here, right?” Scott asked sounding worried when Stiles shook his head.

“No. This is number sixty-four, and it’s the first time, the first time that any of you have seen me and knew who I was. I mean, I’ve stood next to the exact replica of myself in other dimensions and none of you thought we looked even remotely similar, it was like, I wasn’t supposed to be there so I didn’t fit, wouldn’t ever fit.” Stiles sounding like he was holding back tears of relief and Noah pulled him into another tight hug.

“So, not including our world and the supernatural realm, you’ve seen sixty-two other dimensions?” Peter asked and Stiles nodded. “Were any of them, in any of them, did, did the fire, did they survive?” Stiles looked pained, shifting the bag at his feet uncomfortably before clearing his throat.

“Yeah, yeah in one of them, but, um, you know in Doctor Who how some things are a fixed point in time, that they are destined to happen? Well, the fire happens, every time, no matter what, there’s different variations, different people live and die, but it happens. Except for this one dimension.”

“Where there was no fire and our family survived?” Peter asked sounding almost overjoyed.

“Yeah.” Stiles said sadly, “But, it wasn’t, twenty-six people were supposed to die in that fire and when they didn’t, well, somebody else had to die. Twenty-six someone’s actually.” 

“Who? What happened?” Scott asked sounding concerned and Stiles looked at him sadly.

“It’s a different dimension, there’s no correlation between the people in that world and ours, they might share our looks, voices, names, but, they’re not us, okay?” Stiles said and Scott looked at him with worry.

“What happened Stiles? Who died?” Lydia asked and Stiles’ shoulders slumped.

“All of us, that dimension, that Scott, he, um, he went crazy, lost it, he, um, he brought a gun into school.” 

“No.” Scott said looking shocked, “No, no, I wouldn’t do that.” 

“I know buddy, I know you wouldn’t, but he wasn’t you. He wasn’t. He was the Scott of that dimension, and he was, he wasn’t well, he was sick, ill.”

“What happened?” Scott whispered and Stiles looked at him guiltily.

“Scott, it doesn’t make any difference. I know you wouldn’t do that.” Stiles replied resting a hand on Scott’s knee. 

“No, no, I need to know. What did I do? What happened? Who did I kill?” 

“You didn’t kill anyone Scott. He did. It wasn’t you. You don’t exist in that dimension. It’s not you.” Stiles said sternly.

“Stiles, just tell me, please, what did he do?” 

“He took a gun into the school and he shot people, a lot of people.” Stiles replied quietly.

“You? Did I-he shoot you?” Scott asked sounding pained and Stiles nodded silently. 

“I was first. I, well, that version of me, he, um, he tried to talk you down, convince you to put the gun down, that Scott two wasn’t well and that he needed help and, well, he shot Stiles two in the head, before he went after everyone else. Allison, Isaac, Erica, Boyd, Lydia, Jackson, Danny, Matt, Ryan, Sammy, James, Logan, Cameron, Freddie, Liam, Mike, Shannon…” Stiles paused, “Cora, it didn’t kill her straight away, because it wasn’t wolfsbane, and, um, I guess, I guess Talia felt it, and, well, there was a bit of a standoff, the police wanted Scott to give up the gun before they came into the school, it gave Talia, Robert, Derek, Laura and Peter time to get there, they were all freaking out, desperate to get in there and there was, Scott two had worn a vest, a bomb, and the pack ran through the cordon and Noah two ran after them to stop them and Scott two freaked and set the bomb off, it killed all of them.

“So we all died?” Peter asked, “I mean, the majority of the family survived, but, Talia, Robert, Derek, Laura, Cora and I, we all still died?” 

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” Stiles said quietly and there was silence for a moment before Jackson cleared his throat.

“What about the other dimensions? Were any of them better than here? Did you want to stay in any of them?” Jackson asked and Stiles shook his head quickly.

“I mean, I guess, some of them were better than here in the sense that I wasn’t running for my life every second of the day but they were still wrong, they weren’t here, they weren’t home.” Stiles shrugged casually glancing up and looking at the pack nervously, “There were also a lot of them that were a hell of a lot worse than here too, if that makes you feel any better?” 

“Can you control the jumps? Go back to places you’ve been?” Isaac asked.

“Um, well, I can still make the jumps I guess, but, I wouldn’t know where I was going to end up and how long it would take for me to get back here again, and, I don’t know, why would I want to leave you guys? Not when it took me so long to get back.” Stiles whispered quietly and Noah pulled him tightly into a hug, Derek doing his best to stay in his seat and not hold Stiles like he so desperately wanted to.

“So, just so I’ve got this straight.” Noah mumbled, “Alfie kidnapped you and got you to help him cast a spell that pulled both of you back in to the supernatural realm, which neither of you knew would happen, you stayed there for a while…”

“About four years.” Stiles interrupted.

“Four years.” Noah amended, clearing his throat as that thought stuck in his throat, “Four years, where you stayed and trained and tried to find a way back here. When you learned how to make the jump from one dimension to the next I presume you said your goodbyes to Alfie and anyone else in that realm and jumped into another dimension, which wasn’t ours, so, you spent a few weeks there, recovering enough energy to make the jump again, and then you kept jumping and repeating the process until you made it back here after sixty-two other dimensions, roughly three years of travelling, and you came here to see if we knew who you were and if we didn’t you would have rested up and made another jump?” Noah surmised and Stiles nodded.

“Jesus Christ.” Peter mumbled in shock. “And these, these other dimensions, some of them were worse than others?” 

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded, moving to his bag and pulling out a beaten book that was tied together with string and looked like it had seen hard times, it was big, heavy and looked like it should have been centuries old not only a few years. “I, um, I did my best to keep a record, made a note of things that were wrong, things that made it not my universe, I didn’t want to forget, or get confused and sometimes, sometimes it was hard to remember that.” He fiddled with the book and refused to look at any of them as he continued, “Sometimes I stayed, maybe longer than I needed to, but it was, I spent time with mom, got to know her all over again, even if it wasn’t the mom I knew, it was, that was hard to leave behind, and Laura, she took me under her wing, I mean she started with trying to kill me which, you know, fair enough, probably not the best approach to speak to her and tell her I knew she was an Alpha werewolf. After she pinned me and I managed to explain what had happened she was cool, she helped me, looked after me until I was stronger, strong enough to make the jump again.” 

“You…you spent time with Laura?” Derek asked in a hushed voice and Stiles nodded.

“Yeah, she was awesome, I mean, in that dimension, I don’t know what she was like in this one, but, in that one, yeah, she was, well, she loved you, so much, she teased you all the time, and the two of you were practically attached at the hip.” Stiles grinned.

“Did she know? About what happened to her here?” Peter asked and Stiles paused before nodding.

“The only way she trusted me was because I knew Derek, told her about him, and, then she wanted to know why he was the Alpha, and, well, I had to tell her. I kind of wanted to stay there, like, not permanently, but, at least a while longer, she told me I had to leave, had to go because I was needed here, that the pack here still needed me. So I jumped.”

“And, when you left, was she, was she still alive? Happy?” Derek asked sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

“Yeah, yeah dude, she was so happy, you both came into the preserve with me and waved me off, told me to stay out of trouble, or, at least attempt to. Laura said to make sure I don’t let this version of you go anywhere near peppermint sweets, I don’t know what that means, or if it means anything to you, but, that version of you got all embarrassed and Laura started laughing and then told me to hurry up and leave already because she was getting sick of me.” Stiles smiled like it was a happy memory and Derek wished he could have seen it too, seen Laura happy and laughing, god it made his heart ache at the very thought of it. 

“Laura dared me to eat a bowlful of peppermint sweets when we were younger.” Derek eventually managed to whisper, “I ate the whole bowl, was sick repeatedly and couldn’t get rid of the scent of peppermint for four weeks. I hate the smell now, can’t stand to be around it.” Stiles laughed happily.

“Well, that explains it I guess.”

“What about the other ones? The ones that were worse?” Erica asked and Stiles shrugged, fiddling with the book in his hands again.

“There were a lot of them. It was kind of like our timeline, but, if there had been other events instead, so, it wasn’t like werewolves didn’t exist or anything like that, but, it was like, what if Scott hadn’t been bitten? What if Laura hadn’t died? What if Laura and Derek didn’t leave town after the fire? If Kate had been caught after the fire, if hunters had announced to the world that there were werewolves, if Derek lost control as the Alpha and became just as insane as Peter had been, if Peter had bitten me when he was the Alpha, if…” Stiles paused, blushing, catching himself before he said something embarrassing, “Anyway, the point is, it was just, all the different ways our lives could have gone, and, honestly, this, all of this,” He gestured to the pack and room around him, “I couldn’t, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” 

“I missed you dude.” Scott said, throwing himself at Stiles and pulled him into a tight hug, Stiles let go of the book, dropping it to the ground and hugging Scott back just as tightly. Derek staring at the book and wondering what secrets it held, wondered what else Stiles had found in the other dimensions, wondered about what kind of friendship he’d had with Laura, wondered if the pack was all together and safe in the other dimensions too, there was so much to think about, so much Stiles must have seen, that they’d missed in the time he was gone. 

They’d all point blank refused to leave the house, crowding around Stiles, every one of them within touching distance of Stiles at all times as if reassuring themselves that Stiles was here and safe with them. Erica and Boyd were basically cuddling with Stiles the entire day, sitting close enough that Stiles was almost sat on their laps at one point and he’d stared at them in bemusement, scrunching a hand in Erica’s hair that had her almost purring as she cuddled closer into Stiles’ side. 

“So, what have you guys been up to since I left? Anything I need to know about?” Stiles asked sounding sleepy.

“Not much really, we’ve spent the entire time looking for you. I called in the station after that thing - I mean, Alfie, after he stabbed Finn, after he disappeared with you. I told them that the murderer had killed Finn and taken you, we’ve been searching ever since, we needed a break, a rest, catch up on some sleep so we didn’t miss something vital by being too exhausted. I told the pack they needed just as much rest as I did. We were just going to have a few hours’ sleep and then get back to it.” Noah admitted sounding guilty.

“Dad, hey, it’s fine, I get it, I don’t blame you for getting some sleep, I would have done the same thing, hell, I did do the same thing, the first few weeks I barely slept and eventually, it caught up with me and Alfie practically forced me to sleep before I blew something up.” Stiles said, resting a hand on Noah’s knee, “I’m fine now, I’m home, it’s okay.” 

“It must be so weird.” Isaac said, “I mean, it’s been two days for us, two days that we’ve been looking for you, but you, for you, you’ve been gone seven years man, so much must have happened and there’s so much you need to tell us, like, I don’t know, did you meet anyone on your travels? Date anyone?” Stiles let out a soft chuckle and shook his head in despair at Isaac.

“Dude, really? I tell you about other dimensions and you ask about if I dated anyone? Seriously? You should be asking if you were funnier in any of them.” Stiles grins and Isaac laughs quietly.

“I don’t hear you saying no.” Isaac laughs and Stiles throws a cushion at him. 

“No, dude, just, no, I mean, maybe, there might have been, someone.” Stiles said blushing furiously, “But, like, nothing happened, nothing could happen, I needed to get back here, to you guys.” 

“Was it someone you know in this dimension? Maybe you could try with them here?” Lydia suggested softly, not looking at Derek who was trying not to launch himself at Stiles and begging him to give him a chance, to please forget about whoever this other person was and be with Derek instead.

“I don’t, I’m not sure, I guess, I’ll think about it.” Stiles said, blushing brightly and refusing to meet any of their gazes, “Maybe, I mean, I don’t think it’ll work here, things are different here, but, I don’t think they would be interested, so, I don’t know, I guess, I’ll see.” 

There was silence as they took that information in, what could they say to that? There was nothing they could say. Derek moved forward, picking up the book from Stiles’ feet and looking at it curiously, eyes wide in confusion when he could smell blood coming from its pages, Stiles looked at him, then the book in his hands and he snatched it back quickly but not quick enough.

“Why does it smell like blood?” Derek asked and the pack all tensed as Stiles shrugged.

“I, well, like I said, some of the dimensions weren’t so good and sometimes I was still recovering from the jump, saving up energy, didn’t have enough to waste healing myself until later.” Stiles replied simply. 

“But you had time to write in the book?” Lydia mused.

“Yeah, well, there’s an enchantment on it, if I open it, it writes in what is important, what happened since I last opened it, what I need it to know. It sounds, I mean, it was, it’s my lifeline, I figured, I figured if I didn’t make it back, if someone found it, maybe, someday, somehow, it would get back to you guys, I know that sounds totally crazy, the idea that if I died in another dimension you’d somehow find the stupid book, but, I don’t know, it kept me sane I guess, it’s not very, it doesn’t make sense, I know that, but, in my head, I had to keep everything separate, I had to remember that where I was wasn’t my real home, and sometimes that was easy, but, other times, especially in some of them, some of the worst of them, it was hard to believe that all of this, this world, my home, hadn’t been some kind of fucked up dream and I just had amnesia or something.” Stiles rambled, blushing as the pack stared at him in astonishment. “The book helps.” Stiles mumbled in conclusion, holding it tightly to his chest.

“Can you tell us about some of the worse ones?” Isaac asked, “I mean, not if you don’t want to, just, tell us why this place, where we’ve all lost and suffered so much, tell us why here is better?” He pleaded.

“You mean other than the fact you guys are here? That you can see me and know who I am? You need more of a reason than that?” 

“Yeah, just, we, we’ve all suffered, lost people, I just, why would you want to stay here?” Isaac asked again and Stiles stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before nodding his understanding and holding tight to the book with trembling hands before he flipped it open. Derek stared in amazement as it automatically turned to the last page and hastily scrawled writing began to appear on the page in front of them, words appearing at a hundred miles an hour, easily filling the page and turning it over as the words continued to flow in a mad dash across the page, eager to get every moment down that Stiles had witnessed since he’d last opened the book.

Stiles closed his eyes, placed a hand on the page and the writing slowed to a stop, Derek just managing to make out the words ‘I AM HOME’ before it stopped completely and Stiles flicked the pages backwards, snatching at a couple of photographs that slipped from the pages quickly, but not quickly enough to stop Derek from seeing his own grinning face looking back at him. He pulled the photographs from Stiles’ fingers and stared at them in amazement, Stiles looking at him with hesitation, as if he wasn’t sure how Derek was going to react. There were three photos in total, the first of Derek, Stiles and Laura all together, Laura had an arm slung around Stiles’ shoulders pulling him towards her as Derek wrapped an arm around Stiles’ waist and tried to pull him closer to him, both of them pulling idiotic, childish faces at each other, Laura even sticking her tongue out at Derek. Stiles, however, was grinning almost blindingly at the camera, looking like he was having the time of his life, one of his hands resting gently on Derek’s hip, he looked, damn it, he looked happier than Derek had ever seen him. 

The second picture was one of Stiles and Laura, they were snuggled up together under a blanket on a sofa, mugs of hot chocolate in their hands and Stiles smiling fondly at Laura who looked like she was telling some kind of amazing story, she looked so full of life, it made Derek want to weep with joy at seeing his sister so happy. The final one was of Derek and Stiles, they were close to camera, their cheeks pressed together, Stiles grinning carelessly and Derek, well, he was looking at Stiles with such love in his eyes that it made Derek blush, did Stiles look at this photo and realise that the Derek of that dimension had been just as in love with Stiles as Derek himself was? He stared at the photo of Stiles and Laura for a little longer before he cleared his throat, fighting back the reminder of just what he had lost, and handed the photos back to Stiles without looking at him. Stiles took them quickly, placing them back into the book carefully, as if they were vitally important to him, before he flipped through a few more pages and finally settled on one particular page, looking at the book and at nobody else.

“Dimension thirty-six,” Stiles said, clearing his throat and refusing to meet anyone’s eyes, “I came to in the preserve, same as always. It was night here, I’m not sure how much time I lost in the jump, but I know when I left the last dimension it was still daylight, I could have lost hours or days, I’m not sure, maybe I wasn’t ready, maybe I shouldn’t have made the jump when I was still exhausted, I’m certain that this place isn’t home, something inside just feels wrong. I’ll have to stay longer here, rest, recuperate, I need to get home in one piece and that won’t happen if I kill myself making the jump.” Stiles paused glancing nervously at his dad before continuing, “I went to the house, same as always, I knew it wasn’t home, knew it the instant I walked through the door and saw my father’s half decomposed body on the floor. I couldn’t understand how nobody had realised that the Sheriff had died and had been lying on the floor for weeks at the very least.”

“It’s okay kiddo.” Noah said, rubbing a reassuring hand over Stiles’ shoulder when Stiles looked ready to burst into tears. He swallowed loudly and then continued.

“The markings on his body made it obvious that it was a werewolf kill, no doubt in my mind even before I cast the spell to check. I buried him in the garden and then made the jump to the Hale house, hoping Derek was there and would be able to make some sense of this. I was wrong. Derek’s body lay in the middle of the drive, he’d been torn apart. This isn’t home. Whatever this place is it isn’t home.” Stiles read, the rest of the pack paling as he read, staring at Noah and Derek with worry, as if what Stiles had witnessed had somehow become their reality. 

“After burying this version of Derek, I went to the station, I thought I might find answers there. I was right, but what I learned was enough to devastate me. I came face to face with this world’s version of myself, a blue-eyed werewolf, standing at Peter’s right hand, claws still covered in blood and Scott’s dead body at his feet, Scott’s body was still warm, it was a fresh kill and I, this Stiles, he didn’t even seem bothered.” Stiles continued, Scott resting a hand on Stiles’ knee.

“It wasn’t you, remember?” He whispered and Stiles nodded furiously.

“Peter taunted me, he didn’t know who I was, didn’t recognise me, that doesn’t surprise me anymore, what did surprise me was that he was able to scent my magic, nobody has been able to do that before. He knew I had some level of magic and he offered me a place in his pack, I couldn’t tear my eyes from this version of myself, he was insane, there was no life in his eyes, just rage and pain and blood on his claws. Peter laughed when he saw me looking. Explained that he’d found this Stiles out in the preserve one night, that he’d bitten him and kidnapped him and held him for months, formed an Alpha bond with him so that this Stiles would be unable to fight any demand Peter made, and his first demand had been to kill his father. Apparently, I’d fought, with everything I had, but the bond was firmly in place by then, Peter had tortured me to the brink of insanity, brought my wolf to the forefront so that I would barely recognise the humans that had once mattered so much to me.”

“Not you, remember?” Noah whispered and Stiles blinked slowly before nodding again.

“This Stiles had murdered his father in cold blood, a father that had been so overjoyed at seeing his missing son return home. Less than twenty-four hours later Derek had become a nuisance and, between Peter and Stiles, it didn’t take them long to kill him too.” Stiles hesitated, his grip on the book tightening to hide the tremble in his fingers as he continued to read.

“The two of them tore through the Sheriff’s station, murdered every deputy in the town and then made the station their headquarters, addressing the town to tell them that not only that werewolves were real, but that if they wanted to live, they would treat Peter rightfully as their Alpha, their King. People had been terrified, retreating to their homes as soon as dark fell, that still wasn’t enough to keep them safe. Peter demanded tributes and if it wasn’t enough, he’d get Stiles to kill them.” Stiles took a steadying breath, flipping the page and continuing.

“From what I can gather the next few weeks were full of murders, starting with the Argents, Chris, Allison, Kate and Victoria. When Gerard came to town this Stiles murdered him too. At some point, he killed Isaac and his father, Erica and Boyd and their families. Jackson and Lydia were turned, this Lydia is a wolf instead of whatever she is back home which is kind of weird, she’s still as terrifying though. They look to have more control over themselves than this Stiles does. They aren’t bound to Peter in the same way that Stiles is, but Peter still has some control over them. It’s the only reason I can think of that would explain Danny dying from Jackson’s claws. Scott came to the station to try and reason with this Stiles, try and make him see that he didn’t have to do this, that he wasn’t a monster. He died because of it, because of me.”

“Enough. We don’t need to hear any more.” Derek whispered, the very idea that somewhere out there, in another dimension or timeline, Peter had attacked and tortured Stiles, that Stiles in turn had murdered his father and most of the pack. 

“No, please, you fixed it? Somehow? Right? You didn’t leave the town under Peter’s control, did you?” Scott asked in worry and Stiles shook his head.

“Of course not Scotty.” Stiles replied, sighing heavily and closing the book. “When I was in the station he sensed my magic, he asked me to join his pack, when I refused he tried to hold me by force. I managed to escape, barely, going up against three betas and an Alpha wasn’t something I’d had to do before. I held them off long enough to be able to make a jump to the preserve but I got a few scratches for my troubles. I had to rest up a few days after I’d healed myself, it took a lot out of me, and I knew they were looking for me, I had to keep moving and each jump made the recovery time longer. By the time I was able to move around normally again I knew I couldn’t take all four of them out at once and I didn’t want to hurt Lydia and Jackson. I went after Peter, it took a lot of planning, it took me weeks to get a plan together by which time I was ready to make another jump, but I just couldn’t leave it like that. If it had been me, hell, it was me, I knew in no dimension would I ever want to be kept prisoner like that, forced to kill people I cared about.” 

“So what did you do?” Erica whispered quietly.

“I went after Peter, I jumped to the Argents house, grabbed a couple of their guns with the wolfsbane bullets in from their basement. I lured away the other three out of the station and then I made the jump in. We fought, the three of them came back in just as I finished him off.”

“I presume that his death broke the bond he had over that Stiles?” Peter asked and Stiles looked up at him and nodded. “What happened to him? Did the breaking of the bond kill him?” 

“No.” Stiles paused, “I saw the realisation wash over him, I saw the instant he knew what he’d done and that he was finally free.” There was silence as Stiles licked his lips nervously. “He grabbed one of the guns I’d dropped, I didn’t have a chance to stop him, there was no hesitation. He grabbed the gun and he shot himself in the head.” 

“But, it wasn’t his fault, Peter, he controlled him, he forced him…” Scott stammered in shock.

“You think that made any difference to him? To me? If anything happened to any of you, if your blood was on my hands, I’d probably do the exact same thing, regardless of if someone else was controlling me or not.” 

“Stiles…” Derek whined, the very thought of Stiles doing something like that, it was beyond reasoning. 

“It doesn’t matter.” Stiles said dismissively, “I can think that now, but, decisions, actions, the consequences of those actions, I can say it now but I don’t know what I’d do in the situation, I don’t, I hope to god I never find out. Anyway, enough about that, you wanted to know what some of the bad ones were like, that’s one of them. I made the jump straight after, I didn’t want to see what else happened, Peter was dead, Stiles was dead. Lydia and Jackson, well, I don’t, I don’t know what happened to them, but, hopefully, hopefully they made it, made it out, managed to control the change, I don’t know, but, I just, I couldn’t stay there any longer. I had to keep trying to get home. I had to get back to you guys.” 

“Stiles, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have, I should never have asked you to, I mean, I’m sorry.” Isaac rambled but Stiles just shrugged and pulled him into a hug. 

“It’s okay buddy, I’m fine, we’re all together again, that’s all I wanted, all I could have asked for.” Stiles said, grinning as Erica and Boyd grabbed on to just as tightly and clutched at him, Erica looking like she was on the verge of tears as she held on almost as tightly as she dared. 

“There were good ones too though, weren’t there?” Lydia asked and Stiles nodded, Derek wondered if he was thinking about Laura again, wondered about the person he’d met there, the one that Stiles could have had something with, he wanted to believe that it was him, they’d looked happy in that photograph, but, Stiles had never thought about Derek like that, Derek knew that. 

“Yeah, and I mean, I learned a lot, Alfie taught me loads before I left and it’s, I feel, good, I mean, I feel better, stronger than I did before.” Stiles said, giving Erica a reassuring squeeze.

“It’s so weird to think that you’ve been gone that long dude, I mean, like, seven years, I bet there’s so many things we don’t know about you now, bet it’s going to be weird sleeping in your own bed again…” Scott began, his voice trailing off when Stiles paled slightly.

“If you want to of course, I mean, we’d still be happy to have puppy piles if you want to.” Jackson said and Stiles stared at him in surprise, as if Jackson was the last person he’d expect that offer to come from.

“I, yeah, I’d like that.” Stiles grinned easily. 

They spent the next few hours just talking, Stiles opening the book to the front and showing them some of the spells he’d learned, Derek just watching Stiles more than listening to him, staring at him with awe on his features, drinking in everything he could about the boy in front of him, hoping that he would be able to close his eyes and still picture him perfectly, the small smile on his lips, his hands gesturing and flailing as he spoke, his eyes lighting up with bemusement when one of the pack asked him something, the way he reached out to make contact with each member at some point or another, almost unconsciously reassuring them that he was here and he was fine. It made Derek ache with something close to reverence. Stiles was perfect.

Stiles fell asleep mid word, Derek had known it was coming for a while, Stiles’ eyes had been drifting closed for the past hour but he kept jerking himself awake and continuing the conversation as if he hadn’t been on the verge of sleep. Derek had known it was only a matter of time before Stiles went to sleep, was almost certain that if Stiles hadn’t found them, hadn’t found his way home, that he would have been asleep hours ago. 

“Oh…” Scott muttered when he saw that Stiles had finally drifted off. “I could do with more sleep too.” He added, slipping deeper into the sofa, shutting his eyes and going to sleep in the next instant, Derek couldn’t help the huff of laughter he made at that.

The rest of the pack followed suit, Noah settling into one of the armchairs near to Stiles and allowing himself to drift back into a much more peaceful slumber than he had previously. It didn’t take long for Derek to relax enough to follow after his pack, the last thing he saw before he closed was Stiles’ sleeping form on the sofa and he smiled softly.

Derek woke to a knock on the door, he blinked once before there was a blinding light that swept through the room, Derek flinching and falling out of the chair as he tried to get to his feet in order to defend himself from whatever this attacker was doing. He didn’t have a chance to do much more than extend his claws when the light vanished leaving Derek staring at his pack, all of whom looked like they were in some way ready to attack, either claws out or weapons drawn, and Stiles who was looking at them all sheepishly, his palm still glowing faintly and an apologetic smile on his lips. 

“Sorry!” He whispered when there was another knock on the door, whoever was outside had obviously not been privy to the light explosion that the rest of them had just witnessed. Stiles seemed to recover quicker than the rest of them who were all still blinking and trying to adjust their vision again, Stiles strode to the door confidently, giving them a quick look that had Noah and Allison putting their guns away and the others retracting their claws, before he swung it open. 

“Stiles!” Deputy Palmer grinned happily, “Just the guy I was coming to see, how are you doing kid?” Palmer asked, clapping a warm hand on Stiles’ shoulder and taking a step inside looking around at the crowd in the living room and smiling when he saw Noah, “Sheriff sir, all of us down at the station wanted to check that Stiles was okay, somehow I drew the short straw.” He rubbed Stiles’ hair affectionately and Stiles laughed pushing him off fondly. 

“Well, you can see I’m fine, so, hadn’t you best get back to doing some actual work?” Stiles teased and Palmer’s smile fell just the slightest but it was enough for Stiles to notice and he tensed next to Palmer, “Right, I guess that’s why you’re really here. So, what do you want to know?” 

“Sorry kid, none of us want to do this right now, but, that guy is still out there and we need to do everything we can to catch him.” Palmer explained looking guiltily at Noah. 

“It’s okay Palmer, I get it.” Stiles said, “Do you want a drink? I was just about to put a pot on? You know how dad can’t even function before he gets his coffee.” Stiles grinned, turning and walking towards the kitchen and motioning for Palmer to follow after them, Derek saw what Stiles was trying to do, give Palmer the illusion of privacy, give him the chance to ask the necessary questions without the Sheriff sat in front of him. Derek would never get over how good Stiles was at reading the room and coming up with a quick solution.

“I am truly sorry about this Stiles, you know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to.” Palmer muttered quietly. 

“Dude, chill out, it’s your job, I get it. So, what do you want to know?” Stiles asked as he was pulled a handful of mugs from the cupboard and starting to brew a pot of coffee. 

“Alright, did you get a name? Location? Description?” Palmer queried.

“Nah, he knocked me out and when I woke up I was blindfolded. Didn’t see a thing.” Stiles lied so smoothly that Derek barely heard the blip in his heartbeat even when he knew Stiles was lying. 

“But you escaped from him? How? Where? Did you recognize your surroundings at all?” Palmer pressed.

“I didn’t, he let me go.” Stiles said simply, “We drove somewhere and he took me out of the car, put me on the ground and put a knife in my hands, told me I could cut through the ropes in a matter of minutes and then he was gone. I freed myself, took off the blindfold and saw I was in preserve, I know my way around pretty well and I made it back to the house, that’s about it.” 

“He didn’t hurt you? Touch you? Say anything about his intentions?” Palmer asked and Stiles shook his head. 

“Nah, he didn’t hurt me and he didn’t say much of anything really, he just said that he was done, he’d punished those that needed it and that it was over.” Stiles shrugged. 

“Really? He said it was over?” Palmer said in surprise.

“Yeah, that’s what he said, which, I get, it doesn’t excuse what he did, god knows I was, I was furious at him for taking away my chance at justice, I wanted to see them punished and they were, but not like that, never like that. But he also killed a lot of people that never saw any justice, where their victims never got the chance to stand up and seek their own justice, so, I don’t agree with what he did, but, I guess, I can kind of understand it.” Stiles explained.

“We’ve not found conclusive evidence that each murder victim had assaulted someone…” Palmer sighed.

“No, I figured not, but, in your gut? You know, don’t you? There might not be evidence, if there was they would have been in prison a long time ago, but, even without the evidence, you feel it, something inside tells you it’s true, doesn’t it?” Stiles asked and Palmer sighed heavily again before agreeing.

“Yeah, yeah, I guess. You’re right. They were guilty. But, so is this guy, whoever he is, wherever he is, he murdered them and he needs to pay for that too.” 

“I know, but, if I’m completely honest with you Deputy, I don’t think anyone will be hearing from him again anytime soon, the way he said he was done, I don’t know, it made me think he didn’t mean just with the killings, I think he meant with this world. I might be wrong, and I really hope I am, but, I think, I believe, that he’s gone. Forever.” Stiles said sounding almost sad. 

“We’ll have to keep the investigation open, in case we do find something that could link him to the case. You think you’d recognize his voice again if you heard it?” 

“Maybe.” Stiles said although he sounded uncertain, it was enough that Palmer would doubt his ability as a reliable witness. In fact, Stiles’ testimony made him pretty much useless even if they did find a suspect which they all knew wasn’t going to happen. 

“And, Stiles, I hate to ask, but, nothing else happened? I mean, you sound, it sounds a little like he did speak to you, and, for some reason he let you go, I don’t want, it’s the last thing I want to ask, but, I have to, did he, did you, did anything…”

“Palmer, please god, just stop before you give yourself an aneurism or something. No, nothing happened, he was the perfect gentleman.” Stiles laughed and Palmer let out a huff of relief. 

“That’s good to hear kid.” Palmer replied.

“I promise to tell you if anyone ever behaves less than perfectly towards me, you know that, in fact, I can spend days at the station telling you about all the people that think I’m annoying for some reason, god knows why, hey, you think you can arrest them for that? You know, telling me to shut up? Or shoving me into walls and stuff? Because, seriously, if you can arrest them, there’s like at least six of them in the living room.” Stiles teased and Palmer laughed loudly.

“Sure thing Stiles, you’d have to point them out so I can shake their hands and congratulate them on not already murdering you.” Palmer replied, relaxed and teasing as he stepped back into the living room. 

“Well, you say that, but, I’m pretty sure at least three of them have attempted it, they just suck at murder and I’m too smart for them.” Stiles laughed, showing Palmer to the door and seemingly ignoring the pack still stood there, Derek couldn’t help a surge of jealously suddenly, could it be that Palmer was the person that Stiles thought something could have happened with? Derek wasn’t sure Stiles had even mentioned the guy before and now they seemed like best buddies, god, how was Derek supposed to survive Stiles getting involved with someone else? His wolf already wanted to tear the guys throat out. 

“Well, thanks for your statement Stiles. Sheriff,” Palmer said turning to address Noah, “I’ll see you at the station in the morning.” Noah nodded tensely, his hand still hovering near his holster and the pack all seemed stressed, needing Palmer to leave and urgently, Derek could understand that feeling, the longer the man was here the less chance he had of leaving in one piece, Derek’s wolf howling that they needed to claim what was theirs and to show Palmer that Stiles belonged with them, show Stiles that he belonged with Derek. 

Everyone else apart from Stiles seemed to have picked up on Derek’s jealously as they all looked at him a little nervously when Stiles shut the door and sighed heavily before turning to look at the rest of the pack. 

“I’m really sorry about that, it’s just like a, a defence mechanism I guess?” Stiles muttered and Derek remembered the light that had blinded him, unable to believe that he’d forgotten about it for even a moment. 

“A defence mechanism?” Noah asked dryly. 

“Yeah, well, like I said, some of the other places weren’t good, I had to, sometimes I had to think on my feet, when it wasn’t safe to sleep and stuff.” Stiles explained uncertainly. 

“When you had to defend yourself quickly?” Lydia queried like she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer. Stiles nodded briefly before he pushed himself away from the door and moved towards the kitchen. 

“Anyways, that was there, this is here, it’s different, I’m sorry, but, you know, it doesn’t cause permanent damage, just, you know, some disorientation for a few minutes, enough time for me to get away, so, don’t worry, none of you are, like, there’s no side effects or anything.” Stiles rambled.

“Well, that’s good kiddo, I don’t exactly feel like going blind just yet.” Noah said, trying to keep his voice light and not think about all the things Stiles must have gone through to get back to them. “Anyone hungry?” He asked, trying to defuse the tension.

Stiles was ravenous, he was always hungry after one of the jumps and the food he’d eaten yesterday had been enough to stop his stomach rumbling but it hadn’t been anywhere near enough to start boosting his energy levels, he’d need at least several meals a day for a good few days before he’d be ready to make another jump, he paused, stopping mid step and letting out a hollow laugh, he’d never have to make another jump again, he was home. 

“Stiles? You okay dude?” Scott asked from where he was hovering near Stiles’ shoulder. 

“Yeah, yeah dude, it’s just, I’m home.” Stiles said, clapping a hand on Scott’s shoulder and pulling him into a half hug before moving back towards the kitchen. His dads scrambled eggs were the best, Noah wasn’t good at cooking a lot of things but nobody could beat Noah’s scrambled eggs. It was the first time he’d tasted them in seven years and they were just as good, if not better, than he remembered, he shoved them hastily into his mouth, barely remembering to use a fork as he moaned in pleasure at the taste. It was only when he’d almost demolished the entire plateful that he looked up and saw everyone else staring at him with open mouths.

“Jesus, did they not have any table manners in the other worlds?” Jackson muttered and Stiles shrugged, grabbing another few pieces of toast and filling his mouth, chewing around a piece before wiping the crumbs from his mouth. 

“Yeah, yeah they did, but, nobody can make eggs like dad, even the other Noah’s and besides, I’m still recovering, you know, rebuilding my energy levels, it means I need a lot of food for the next few days, not to say that your eggs aren’t still amazing dad, but, yeah, I need food too.” Stiles grinned, shoving another forkful into his mouth and then staring at Derek in puzzlement when the man silently slid the remaining eggs from his own plate and onto Stiles’. 

“So, magic takes energy from you?” Peter asked and Stiles swallowed the mouthful of toast before he nodded.

“Yeah, like, the dimensional jumps take a lot out of me, that’s why it takes so long in between the jumps for me to recover the energy to make another one, but, that’s, like I said before, the dimensional jumps are heavy magic, the smaller stuff, sticking in this dimension, I have enough energy to do that now, I mean, I probably shouldn’t, I should build my reserves up properly, keep my strength up rather than wasting it pointlessly, but, yeah, if needs must, I can do some magic with my current energy levels.” Stiles rambled trailing off when he realised that everyone was staring at him in open mouthed shock again.

“So what else can you do? What spells did you learn? Was there a specific training programme that Alfie used?” Lydia asked and Stiles grinned at her, grabbing a mug of coffee and downing half the cup in one go. 

“The book has everything in, there’s probably not much sense to it, the first hundred pages or so I had to write by hand until I learned the enchantment to put my thoughts to paper, but, if you want to read it, you can do, the spells and stuff about the supernatural realm are all at the front and then, well, then it kind of shifts to the other dimensions and stuff.”

“You wouldn’t mind if I looked? You’re not worried that I might pick up a few tricks from it?” Lydia joked and Stiles shrugged.

“Doubt it, unfortunately magic isn’t something you pick up, you can either do it or you can’t, you can learn if you have the ability or it can sit dormant, but, you can’t just read a spell book and suddenly do magic, unfortunately it doesn’t work that way, or, maybe, fortunately it doesn’t work that way. The last thing we need is like every teenage girl reading a spell book and successfully casting love spells, that would just be a disaster of epic proportions.” Stiles laughed. 

“So you never thought of using a love potion?” Erica teased and Stiles grinned.

“Nah, I’d rather be hopelessly in love with someone who would never look at me like that than in a relationship with someone who doesn’t really want me.” Stiles mumbled and Derek felt like a weight was crushing his chest, he’d thought, Palmer, Stiles was, Stiles loved him, hopelessly, god, Derek couldn’t even, he couldn’t get between that, he couldn’t tell Stiles that he wanted to be with him when Stiles was in love with Palmer, that wasn’t fair, wasn’t fair to either of them.

None of them wanted to leave, none of them wanted to let Stiles out of their sight. Stiles said it was totally normal and he felt the same way, but that he also really needed a shower and he kind of wanted a bit of privacy for that, although he’d allow them all to listen to his heartbeat if it bothered them all that much, but if he didn’t have a shower sometime soon they’d probably end up whining about his stench any time.

Lydia read through the book while Stiles was in the shower, stroking the pages almost reverently as she started at the beginning, reading aloud to the rest of the pack. 

“My name is Stiles, Beacon Hills is my home, I was brought to this realm by a man (actually he’s a unicorn – seriously, they can shapeshift and it’s so fucking weird!) called Alfie. We cast a spell, to send Alfie home, it wasn’t supposed to pull me in with him, so now I need to find a way back home. My dad is there, and the pack. My pack. They won’t know what happened to me. I need to get back to them…” Lydia began. The following pages were full of facts about them, as if Stiles wanted to commit every bit of information about them to paper in case he forgot it, Derek was kind of surprised about how much Stiles seemed to know about all of them, obviously he’d know everything about his dad and Scott, but he’d included a lot of information about Lydia, Erica, Boyd, Isaac, Allison and even Peter and Derek. Sometimes it wasn’t personal information but their backgrounds, what Stiles knew about them that had led to them all meeting. It was more than a little interesting to see what Stiles thought of the events that had led to them all becoming a pack, Derek loved the laughter that came from all of them when Stiles had written something particularly sarcastic or funny. 

Stiles had come back downstairs looking a lot more relaxed than he had been previously, he was wearing a pair of dark jeans and his boots but he’d swapped his plain t-shirt for a baggy captain America one and thrown a plaid over shirt on over it, Derek caught sight of dark ink near the collar of the shirt and was on his feet in a moment, grabbing hold of the shirt and pulling it away to clearly see the start of a tattoo before Stiles jerked back and looked at him like he was insane.

“Dude, what are you doing?” 

“Since when the hell did you get a tattoo?” Derek said reaching out to grab his shirt again to take another look before Stiles glanced down, saw the mark on his skin and moved out of Derek’s reach. 

“What’s with all the touching man?” Stiles quizzed and Derek glared at him.

“Stiles.” He growled, “When did you get a tattoo?” Noah looked almost as angry and Stiles grinned sheepishly.

“Well, the first one I got a couple of months after we made the jump, I read about how you can channel your magic through tattoos and it can make you stronger. We thought that if we tried then it might mean I’d be able to make the jump. It worked in the sense that it concentrated my magic but I think we used the wrong rune because it increased how quickly I healed instead, so, you know, then we had to try with a few more, and then you know, there were ones that were really useful so, you know, I thought they’d come in handy.” Stiles admitted.

“A few more!?” Noah spluttered incredulously, “How many is a few more?” 

“Um, I guess, maybe, hmm, well, if you count that, erm, I think, I suppose it could be, maybe, uh, well…”

“Stiles!” Noah snapped and Stiles rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Twenty, give or take a few.” Stiles blurted out and Derek gaped at him, wanting to pull his shirt off and see exactly what tattoos now adorned Stiles’ torso. 

“And they do what exactly?” Noah asked, his voice sounding strained. 

“Well, each one does something different, and they have to be in specific places, but they help make me stronger, help make my magic more powerful, help me heal quicker, help me move faster, they’ve helped me survive when I probably wouldn’t have done, they helped me get back here to you guys so I’m, I don’t, I like them, that’s all.” Stiles rambled and Derek felt instantly guilty, he didn’t mean to make Stiles feel bad about them, hell, he wanted to look at them, see them, trace them with his fingertips, the last thing he wanted to do was make Stiles dislike them.

“I wasn’t meaning that they’re bad, just a surprise, that’s all.” Derek admitted and Stiles glanced at him in surprise. “You shouldn’t feel bad about them.” 

“I don’t. They saved my life, multiple times, they were worth it.” Stiles agreed. 

Lydia went back to reading the book, although she wasn’t reading it aloud this time and Stiles went into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich, calling out to see if anyone else was hungry and making a plateful of food when Scott admitted that he could eat again. 

Derek decided that he’d go for a run, god knows he needed to get rid of some pent-up frustration, the dark ink of the tattoo was a stark contrast against Stiles’ skin and it made him want to touch and taste and Derek knew he couldn’t do that, that Stiles wouldn’t want that. They talked for a little longer before Derek just couldn’t sit there any longer, his wolf almost demanding that he claim Stiles now, put his own mark on Stiles’ skin. 

“I’m going to go for a run.” He said abruptly, cutting across Lydia who was asking Stiles questions about the third dimension he’d visited.

“Sure dude, you want us to come?” Scott asked from where he was perched near Stiles and Derek shook his head, he needed to run and he needed to be alone. He was out the back door and running in the preserve before he even realised it, feeling the crunch of leaves under his feet, still able to hear Stiles’ steady heartbeat despite the fact that he was a few hundred meters into the preserve by now and everyone else’s heartbeat had faded from his ears. 

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been running but he felt better for it, his muscles ached but it was a good ache, it made him feel strong, powerful, in control. He felt good. 

Right up until something pricked the back of his neck, he reached backwards, pulling a small dart from his skin and staring at it in shock as his knees collapsed and his vision darkened, his eyes flickering closed just as a pair of boots came into view.


	8. Chapter 8

Stiles was tired but he was staying awake because the pack were asking him so many questions and he didn’t think it was fair to not answer them, even if all he wanted to do was close his eyes and go to sleep. He had been surprised when Derek had left the house so suddenly, as if he couldn’t stand to be around Stiles even a moment longer, he understood, even if he didn’t feel great about it. He’d sort of hoped that Derek wouldn’t be long, that Stiles could try and explain those photographs to him, he knew it must have been hard for Derek to see those pictures, to see Laura alive and happy, to see Stiles with her, with another version of Derek. He’d never meant for Derek to see them, he’d only kept them because he wanted proof, evidence that there was a good dimension, that there had been a time when he had been almost happy, that he could have stayed there, could have been happy there, except it wasn’t his dimension, wasn’t his Derek. He should have never kept those stupid photos. 

“Did you feel that?” Isaac said almost four hours after Derek had left and Stiles looked at him in puzzlement, Isaac was rubbing his chest as if something there was causing him pain, Stiles glanced around and saw that Jackson, Erica, Boyd, Peter and even Scott were all rubbing their chests in the same place while Lydia, Allison and Noah all looked at them in worry. Stiles had seen something like this before but it couldn’t be the same thing, he couldn’t believe it was the same thing, he wouldn’t allow it to be the same thing. 

“Like something just vibrated in your chest?” Stiles asked quickly. 

“It’s the bond with Derek, the Alpha bond.” Peter said in agitation, “I’ve felt it before, with, when Talia, the fire.”

“But, Derek’s not dead!?” Isaac said in terror as Stiles jumped to his feet and moved to the kitchen. 

“No. Not yet. It’s a warning, that he’s in a bad way, but, he’s not dead. Not yet.” Peter supplied.

“Not ever.” Stiles snarled, pulling out a map of Beacon Hills and grabbing a knife before slicing it efficiently across his palm before anyone could protest.

“What the hell are you doing!?” Noah cried out, rushing to grab a towel to stop the flow of blood, Stiles ignored him, dripping the blood onto the map and muttering a few quiet words, the pack watching in fascination as the blood rolled across the map and gathered at one particular point. 

“Stay here.” Stiles ordered before he scrunched his eyes closed in concentration and vanished from sight.

“WAIT-“ Noah shouted, but it was too late, Stiles was gone. There was silence for a moment, all of them staring at the empty space where Stiles had been before Noah scowled down at the map studying the area that was marked with blood. It took them a minute or maybe two before they all snapped out of their shock at the events that had just happened.

“We need to go after them!” Erica said in terror, moving towards the door, the rest of the pack following after her when there was a loud pop from behind them and Stiles reappeared near the sofa, supporting a very battered shirtless Derek who was covered in blood, he was swaying unsteadily on his feet, the remains of ropes doused in wolfsbane clinging to his wrists. 

“Derek!” A chorus of voices shouted as Derek’s knees gave out and black blood leaked from his lips, his eyes rolling backwards as he lost consciousness. Stiles moved quickly, lowering Derek to the sofa and checking his vital signs professionally, the pack crowding around their fallen Alpha, reaching out to touch him and flinching away when Stiles smacked their hands away.

“Wolfsbane poisoning. Don’t touch him. You’ll make yourselves sick.” Stiles said, running a hand over Derek’s cheek before glancing around and waving his hand towards his bag which flew through the air towards him, the pack dodging out of the way just in time as Stiles turned his attention back to Derek.

“What happened? Who had him?” Peter asked but Stiles ignored him, muttering under his breath as several jars flew from his bag into his hands and Derek’s heart stuttered. Their Alpha was dying, they could all hear it, feel it in their chests. Derek was going to die and there was nothing any of them could do about it.

“We need to get him to a hospital!” Scott addressed the pack. 

“And they do what? He’s been poisoned with wolfsbane, what the hell are they supposed to do?” Noah asked.

“He won’t make it to a hospital.” Isaac said in terror. “He’s dying. I can smell it, hear it, feel it.” 

“That’s not helping anything!” Erica shouted angrily. The pack were all shaking with terror, falling apart at the very thought of their Alpha’s demise, Stiles blocked it all out, focused on the task at hand, he had to save Derek, he wouldn’t lose him, wouldn’t allow him to die, to leave the pack like this. 

He grabbed the jars in his hands, ignoring the fact that he was shaking with fear, measuring out the ingredients as quickly and carefully as he could, forming a basic paste and muttering a spell under his breath the entire time, trying not to think about the harsh sounds of Derek’s breathing, as if every breath was an effort, that each one may be his last. If he thought about that then he’d get distracted and if he made one tiny mistake it would be difference between Derek living and them both dying. 

His chanting got louder as the paste came together, the pack going quiet around him as they watched in mute fascination at the sight in front of them. Stiles smeared the paste onto Derek’s throat and chest, just above his heart, the entire time chanting the spell, ignoring the burn in his eyes, the throb in his head and the frantic beating of his heart. He would save Derek, he wouldn’t lose him, not when he’d only just made it home. 

“Stiles!” Noah called out in panic when blood began to drip from Stiles’ nose but Peter put an arm across his chest, stopping him from moving forward, from disrupting whatever magic Stiles was working. They could all feel it, like a crackling electricity in the air, it was powerful, Peter knew that much, it made him want to bear his throat and beg for mercy, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, Derek’s best hopes of survival right now was to let Stiles finish whatever it was that he was doing. 

Stiles’ chanting seemed to increase in pace despite his voice maintaining its volume, they could all hear Derek’s heartbeat slowing, they all knew that he didn’t have long, Peter just prayed that Stiles could finish whatever it was he was doing before it was too late. The blood that had started to drip from his nose was now running in a steady stream, staining his t-shirt, it drew Peter’s attention to the fact that Stiles’ chest seemed to be glowing under his shirt, he wondered vaguely if that was the runes that Stiles had mentioned before suddenly Stiles’ chant stopped and everything went silent, everyone waiting with bated breath, looking between Stiles and Derek for some evidence that whatever Stiles was doing had worked. 

“Motherfucker.” Stiles cursed in disbelief at something none of them could see, before there was a percussive blast that knocked everyone off their feet backwards, shattering the glass in the windows behind Peter and Noah, flipping the furniture away from the centre of the blast. Peter was the first to recover, scrambling to his feet and looking to Stiles and Derek, Stiles had been knocked backwards and had smashed into the table behind him, it had shattered under the force of the impact, Derek was still lying motionless on the sofa no sign that he had been affected by the blast at all. The only thing that the two of them had in common at that precise moment was that neither of their hearts were beating.

“Stiles! Derek!” Scott called in panic, rushing forward towards where Stiles’ body was lay just as Derek’s heart thudded into rhythm, as he arched upwards from the sofa, roaring in pain, his eyes flashing red and his claws and fangs extended, the wounds on his body healing instantly and the black lines fading from his skin before he dropped back onto the sofa and lay there unconscious. 

Stiles’ heart started again a moment later, although he didn’t have the dramatic revival that Derek had, one moment his heart wasn’t beating, the next it was, the only visible difference was the slightest rise and fall of his chest.

“Stiles!” Noah called in panic, rushing to his son’s side, resting one hand on his chest and the other on his cheek, relaxing just slightly when he noticed the signs of life from him, Stiles may be unconscious but he was alive, thankfully. “Come on kiddo, wake up, Stiles, Stiles, can you hear me? Wake up kid, please, Christ, wake up.” Noah shook him but Stiles was limp in his arms, the nosebleed seemed to have stopped but there was still blood smeared across his chin and shirt, he looked fragile, breakable and so small that it took Noah back to when he had witnessed Derek cradling his son’s limp body in his arms the night Finn and Heather attacked him. He let out a small sob, terrified that he was about to lose his son all over again and wondering how much more he could take, how many more times would he be witness to his son nearly dying in front of his very eyes? How many more times before Stiles’ luck ran out and he did die? Noah couldn’t bear this. He was supposed to protect his son and it felt like he was failing over and over again.

Derek came back to awareness slowly, like he was trudging through mud as he attempted to open his eyes and figure out where he was. He tried to move and groaned, his whole body ached, he couldn’t really remember what had happened but he knew it must have been pretty bad to make him feel like this. His groan must have been louder than he thought as he sensed sudden movement around him and then a hand was on his arm and a voice was speaking close to his ear.

“Derek? Derek, can you hear me? Are you okay? Can you open your eyes?” Peter sounded worried, more afraid than Derek had heard him in a long time, he forced himself to blink open his eyes, shutting them again quickly when the light hurt his eyes. “That’s it Derek, open your eyes, come on.” Peter pleaded and Derek forced his body to comply, blinking a few more times in quick succession before his eyesight adjusted and he recognised that he was looking up at the Stilinski’s living room ceiling. 

“Wh’t appen’d?” He queried, his voice cracking with disuse as he took in his surroundings. The pack were all spread out around the room, Erica, Isaac, Boyd, Lydia, Jackson, Scott, Allison, Noah and Peter all staring at him with worry. There were wooden boards over the windows that kept out the natural light, as if the windows had been shattered, Derek wasn’t sure if it was day or night or how long he’d been out.

“Derek, take it slow, you’ve been out two days. Just, nice and slow.” Noah informed him and Derek couldn’t believe he’d been unconscious two days, it didn’t seem possible.

The events came back to him quickly, flashing through his mind in broken images, he’d been out for a run when he’d been shot with a tranquiliser dart. 

He'd woken up tied to a chair in a warehouse in the downtown district, Gerard was smirking at him as hunters (loyal to Gerard – the man who had been willing to become a werewolf, a monster, in order to survive!) smacked him repeatedly in the face, the chest, the stomach, as they pulled out knives and cut into his skin and Derek could do nothing but scream in pain as Gerard watched on in amusement. Derek knew he’d been poisoned, listened as Gerard told him that he would die painfully but that the plan was to lure his pack to his location first, make them watch as Gerard murdered their Alpha and then force them to swear loyalty to him or die. But something had happened, something unexpected, just as Derek was on the brink of unconsciousness, just as he knew that he was about to die, that the pack would never make it there before he was murdered by these lunatics, somebody had appeared in front of him. He recognised them, at least partially, their blurred shape had been familiar...

“Stiles!? Stiles was there! Is he okay? Where is he?” Derek asked rapidly, sitting up too quickly, ignoring the dizziness that faded almost instantly from his mind as his eyes locked on to Stiles’ still form. 

Stiles was lying on a pile of pillows and blankets in the middle of the room, the pack were surrounding him, almost hiding him from Derek’s eyesight, each member seeming to be within arm’s reach of him at all times. He could smell the faint trace of Stiles’ blood and could see how pale he looked, it terrified him.

“What happened to him? Is he okay?” Derek asked, sliding off the sofa and towards Stiles, as if he needed the intimacy in order to ensure that Stiles’ heart was indeed beating. “Was it Gerard? Did he hurt him?” 

“Gerard? What has Gerard got to do with this!?” Erica snarled angrily.

“He was the one who kidnapped me, him and his goons, they were going to kill me, they poisoned me…” He glanced down at his chest, surprised that there was no evidence of the beating, no evidence of where Gerard had injected him with wolfsbane. His body ached and was a bit stiff, but he knew that was usual when he was healing, except, he shouldn’t have been healing, he should have died. 

“Stiles jumped, he grabbed you and when he brought you back here he did, some kind of spell, something, well, we don’t know, but, it smelled big. Powerful. And it healed you.” Isaac explained.

“What happened to him?” Derek pressed.

“We,” Allison cleared her throat, glancing down at the still unconscious Stiles, “We don’t know. We’re not sure what the spell was supposed to do, but, he, um, he finished it and you, there was a blast, it knocked us all backwards and, well, it stopped your hearts.” Allison said, trying to break it to him gently as Derek went white with fear. 

“What? What do you mean? What does that mean our hearts stopped?” 

“Only for a moment. Then yours started beating again and Stiles’ a moment after that.” Peter said, trying to sound happy about it whereas Derek looked to be on the verge of a panic attack. 

“Has he woken up? Said anything? Explained what the hell he was doing?” Derek asked.

“No. Melissa came over and checked you both out, once she confirmed neither of you were going to die any time soon we made you comfortable and then decided to wait it out.” Lydia explained, Derek couldn’t help but notice that Stiles’ book was near her feet, a bookmark placed delicately in the pages about three quarters of the way through, Lydia had obviously been very busy while they were out.

“But, now that you’re awake, maybe it won’t be long before Stiles is too.” Jackson added and Derek was surprised at just how hopeful he sounded, Lydia obviously noticed his surprise and she grinned.

“Who knew? Right? It was a surprise to me as well, but, apparently, ‘Stilinski maybe isn’t as annoying as I make out, and he might even be an okay guy’” Lydia quoted as Jackson blushed, “That is high praise from Jackson.” She giggled and Scott huffed out a laugh, reaching out to run a hand over Stiles’ arm quickly as if to reassure himself that Stiles was still there.

“Yeah yeah, anyway, it’s not like I’m saying I like him or anything.” Jackson grumbled and Lydia smirked at him. 

“I think the only reason you ever disliked him in the first place was because he had a crush on me and now we all know that’s irrelevant, well, you’ve got no reason to dislike him.” Lydia explained and Jackson mumble something incoherent before nodding in agreement. 

“It’s irrelevant? Why?” Derek asked quickly, wondering what else had happened while he was out of it. 

“Oh, oh yeah, of course, you don’t know.” Isaac smiled happily.

“Don’t know what?” Derek tried not to growl but he wasn’t sure he was that successful.

“In here.” Lydia smiled, patting the book delicately, “I may have found a particular interesting passage about the person that Stiles mentioned before…” She started and Derek tensed, of course Lydia was referring to the person that Stiles was interested in, who in another dimension they could have had something, but in this dimension Stiles was sure the person in question had no interest in him. 

Whatever Lydia had been about to say was interrupted by a low groan from Stiles, Derek turned his attention back to him in an instant, moving away slightly to allow Noah access to Stiles and hating that he wasn’t the one that was going to comfort Stiles. 

“Stiles? Kiddo? You okay?” Noah asked nervously, licking his lips and waiting for Stiles to open his eyes. Stiles groaned again as he tried to shift his weight and open his eyes, it seemed to take him longer to regain consciousness than it did for Derek, but Derek guessed that was one of the perks of werewolf healing. 

“Der?” Stiles asked before his eyes were even properly open.

“I’m here.” Derek replied, reaching out and clasping one of Stiles’ hands. 

“Y’u ‘kay?” Stiles added and Derek let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m fine Stiles, healed, healthy, good.” Derek explained and Stiles gave a small nod before he blinked his eyes a few more times. 

“G’rard?” 

“Still out there somewhere.” Peter admitted, “We didn’t want to leave you two until we knew you were both going to be okay, but, now that we know, we can start the search for him.” 

“You’ll do no such thing.” Derek growled, he was not going to allow his pack to get hurt. He would take out Gerard without their help, without putting them at risk. “I’ll take care of him.”

“Yeah, cuz that worked so well last time.” Stiles muttered, groaning as he tried to sit up and leaning heavily against his father’s side. 

“You okay?” Noah asked in worry and Stiles gave him a tight-lipped smile.

“Fine. Just recovering.”

“From the spell you used to save my life?” Derek asked, having to know if trying to save him had nearly killed Stiles.

“Yeah, so don’t fucking waste it by going after Gerard alone. He nearly killed you last time.” Stiles said heatedly, the exhaustion still evident in his face. 

“Yeah and you saving me nearly killed you! Your heart stopped Stiles! You’ve been unconscious for two days! You could have died!” Derek replied angrily.

“Don’t pretend that you weren’t unconscious as well up until half an hour ago.” Erica remarked and Stiles grinned at her conspiratorially before turning back to glare at Derek.

“I had it under control.” Stiles replied. 

“Under control!?” Noah said incredulously, “Son, your heart stopped, how is that under control!? Please tell me that’s not normal?” Stiles chewed his lower lip for a moment before seeming to make his mind up.

“Alright, so maybe I haven’t cast that particular spell before and maybe it took more energy than I originally thought, but, it wasn’t much more energy than the dimension jumps take, I just, maybe wasn’t as powered up as I usually am before I do a jump because like I may have never done a normal jump with more than one person before and it took more energy than I thought, so, you know, the healing spell, it drained me, a lot, which I sort of expected, I mean, I sort of hoped it wasn’t going to kill me, but you can’t ever be too sure with new spells and power draining and all that but, I’m fine, the healing rune kicked in before I died so it healed me and I’m okay.” Stiles rambled, everyone’s eyes going wide in surprise the more he spoke until he trailed off and there was only silence.

“I don’t even know where to start with how messed up everything you just said is.” Scott mumbled and Stiles blushed.

“Let’s start with the fact that you cast a spell that you’ve never cast before, knowing you were low on energy, and knowing that in all likelihood it was going to kill you.” Derek growled.

“Yeah well what choice did I have?” Stiles snarled back, “You wouldn’t have made it to a hospital even if they did know how to treat you. What was I supposed to do? Let you die!?” 

“Yes. If it came to a choice, then you should have let me die.” Derek snapped and Stiles pushed himself to his feet, albeit a little unsteadily, before he clenched his fists angrily. 

“That’s never an option. I’m not losing you. I’m home, this is my home and if you die here…” Stiles sucked in a trembling breath, attempting to calm himself before he spoke again, “If any of you die here that’s it, there’s no do overs, I can’t keep holding out the hope that if I make one more jump then I’ll get you back, that you’ll be alive and I’ll be home and it’ll all be okay. This is the only place I want to be, the only place where all the people I care about are together. I can’t, I won’t lose any of you. No matter what. So, yeah, I’d risk killing myself if it meant keeping you alive, keeping any of you alive.” Stiles said, his chest heaving in anger, his body shaking with adrenaline as he tried to control himself, there was silence in the room as they all processed what Stiles had said.

Noah hugged Stiles tightly, as if afraid his son was going to vanish in front of his very eyes and after a moment Stiles hugged him back just as tightly.

“I promise, I promise I won’t do anything that’s going to get me killed unnecessarily, I promise to try not to do anything stupid and I promise not to risk my life like it means nothing, but, I also promise to do everything in my power to protect you guys, all of you, for as long as I can. Which I know you would all do the same for me. So, can we just, can we just move past this? I’m alive, Derek is alive. Let’s just focus on that. Let me recover, get some energy and then deal with Gerard once and for all.” 

“You aren’t going after him?” Erica whispered sounding pained and Stiles looked up at her in surprise, her eyes were wide with fear and she was clutching tightly to Boyd’s hand who looked equally as nervous. 

“I’ll be fine.” Stiles tried to reassure them.

“He nearly killed you last time, they would have killed you, you can’t, you can’t go through that again, I can’t watch you go through that again.” Erica pleaded, tears in her eyes.

“What are you talking about? When did Gerard nearly kill Stiles!?” Scott asked in horror, the rest of the pack looking equally astounded. Derek stared at Stiles, he didn’t look annoyed that Erica had said anything, instead he looked like he wanted to comfort both of them, reassure them that it was fine, that he wasn’t mad at them and Derek finally pieced together what had happened, unable to believe that he’d not realised it before.

“The night of the lacrosse game, the bruises, those scars on your chest.” Derek muttered in shock, Stiles turning to look at him with wide eyes, “Gerard, he had you, he kidnapped you, tortured you.” 

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” Stiles said quickly, reassuring the pack who all looked devastated. 

“What? Why? When? Why didn’t you tell us?” Scott whined and Stiles shrugged. 

“What was the point? I was fine. Telling you wouldn’t make it better, it would just make you all feel bad, I didn’t want to do that.” Stiles said, moving to Erica and Boyd and giving them both a quick squeeze as if to say he was fine, he wasn’t annoyed and they would all be fine. "Besides, that night, I know it wasn't that long for you, but it has been a long time for me, I've been gone seven years, I've grown up, I've matured, I've gotten stronger, I'm not afraid of him, not anymore, I've put that night, and the other night, with Heather and Finn, that's behind me, I've processed it, I've moved on, I'm not going to lie and say that I don't still think about it sometimes, I'd be weird if I didn't, but, I'm not the same person I was then, and, well, what Gerard did, it pales in comparison to some of the other stuff I've seen, I'm okay, I was okay then and I'm okay now. There was no point in upsetting you for no reason." Stiles explained.

Derek was reeling, unable to believe that he hadn’t known, how could he not have known? Stiles had been hurt, beaten badly enough to leave scars, tortured by a maniac and he hadn’t known. 

“You said it was the other team.” Derek added and Stiles shrugged sheepishly.

“Technically it was, I just, didn’t mention that it wasn’t the other lacrosse team.” 

“You, God, you, fuck, you were hurt, you were hurt and I didn’t, I didn’t fucking realise. This is all my fault, I should have been there, I should have helped you, I, god, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Derek cursed, his wolf whimpering with disgust, they’d failed Stiles, they’d failed him and they hadn’t even known, they should have known, they should have protected him. 

“No, Derek, Christ, you couldn’t have known.” Stiles said, moving towards Derek and putting a hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eyes seriously, “Derek, this was not your fault. It wasn’t. This was Gerard. It is not your fault. None of you.” Stiles said glancing around at the rest of the pack who all looked to be in varying states of self-hatred. “None of you could have known what he was planning to do. I didn’t want you to know, okay? I kept it from you because I wanted to protect you, I knew you’d blame yourselves and it wasn’t your fault. It was him. It was always him.” 

“Stiles…” Scott whined and Stiles turned to him, pulling him into a tight hug.

“It’s okay Scotty, it’s okay, I’m fine, see? I’m right here and I’m fine.”

“I should have…I’m sorry.” Scott sobbed, bursting into tears and hugging Stiles so tightly that it actually kind of hurt.

“Scotty, too hard man.” Stiles gasped a moment later and Scott let go of him, already apologising and wiping quickly at the tears on his cheeks. Stiles looked around the room and felt so guilty, he’d never wanted them to know, never wanted them to look so broken by the news. “Look, I know it’s a lot to take in. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. But, I’m fine. I got out of there. We all did. But Gerard isn’t going to go away until we do something about it. He kidnapped our Alpha. He nearly killed him and we cannot wait for him to do the same thing to someone else, to another one of us, or to an innocent bystander. We need to stop him.”

“You can’t, Stiles, please. I can’t watch that again.” Erica pleaded.

“I’m not the same person I was then Erica. I’m stronger, I have magic. He won’t be able to hurt me. He won’t be able to hurt any of us. Not now and never again.” Stiles said seriously, letting her know that he wasn’t going to be backing down from this, that he wouldn’t run and hide and wait for Gerard to hurt those that he cared about. 

In the end, the showdown with Gerard was very anticlimactic. They’d taken a day where Stiles ate practically everything in sight and Derek watched with fascination as the colour returned to his skin, he hadn’t realised just how pale Stiles had been until his complexion returned to normal. They were all exhausted, none of them had really slept while Stiles and Derek had been unconscious so Stiles advised they rest for the night and in the morning they’d track down Gerard. 

By morning Stiles was radiating with energy, bouncing in place as his skin almost crackled with power, it was beautiful, Derek wanted to touch but he fought it with everything he had. Stiles cast some kind of complicated spell over the map on the kitchen table, explaining to them that he couldn’t use his blood to track Gerard because he wasn’t a pack member, Derek was going to quiz him about that later, but for now he waited patiently, watching Stiles mutter an incantation before he lit a match and dropped it onto the map. 

Derek sucked in a breath, worried the whole place was going to go up in flames, instead the map burned and blackened and then the fire vanished as if it had never been there in the first place, Stiles picked up the map and grinned, showing them the small area in the more expensive part of town that was still pale white. The fire hadn’t burned it.

“He’s there. Let’s go.” Stiles said and Derek was glad that Stiles didn’t attempt to argue that he should go alone or they should wait while he scoped it out or anything like that. They were going to take Gerard down and they were going to do it as a pack. 

He had eight hunters with him, all armed with guns and ready to fire at the first opportunity. They observed them for a few minutes before Stiles pulled them all together and explained his plan in hushed whispers. Derek didn’t like the fact that Stiles would be putting himself in danger but he had to admit it was a damn good plan, and, as Stiles explained, they’d all be there ready to jump in if anything went wrong. Derek nodded his agreement despite the fact that his wolf was howling at him not to allow Stiles to do this, not to let Stiles put himself in danger, Derek gritted his teeth and did his best to ignore his baser instincts.

Apparently, Stiles’ magic had made them all nervous, a little trigger happy and ready to shoot at shadows, Stiles used that to his advantage, teleporting into the middle of the group, grinning widely and then jumping out of the way again, long before the first bullet would have hit him, but it didn’t stop the hunters from firing anyway, five of them dropped to the ground within the first few seconds and Gerard cursed at their stupidity for killing their own men. 

The trick didn’t work the second time around, one of the men pulling a knife instead and charging at Stiles. Stiles grabbed him, twisting away from the knife and then using the jump to pull them both back to the pack. The hunter was disorientated from the jump and Derek snapped his neck long before the man had been able to get back to his feet. 

“Two left.” Stiles grinned and moved back towards the entrance of the house as the rest of the pack stalked predatorily forwards. 

The other two hunters saw the pack coming towards them and froze for a moment, the first levelled his gun at Derek and pulled the trigger, Stiles’ hands glowed bright blue and the bullet fell to the floor a foot away from Derek as if it had hit an invisible shield. The hunter fired again, a burst of bullets that never reached their target. Derek glanced across at Stiles who had a bead of sweat running down his face, his hands trembling slightly but a feral grin was on his face. He looked dangerous, deadly, bloodthirsty and it made Derek’s wolf snarl with desire. This was their mate, their protector. 

Derek waited until the first hunter had run out of bullets and he stepped forwards, closing the distance between them in a few seconds, before the man could even think to pull his knife, Derek twisted his neck viciously and dropped the lifeless body to the floor. 

The last remaining hunter glanced at the pack who were in front of him and Gerard who was waiting almost patiently behind him, he dropped his gun, turned and ran towards the back exit. Gerard grabbed him before he got there, slamming a knife into his stomach and glaring at him.

“Coward.” Gerard spat in disgust before letting go of him and watching as his knees gave way and he collapsed to the ground, his eyes glazing over and his heart stopping. Gerard turned his attention to the pack in front of him, his gaze settling on Derek and Stiles who had been leading the charge. “I should have killed both of you when I had the chance.” 

“Shoulda, woulda, coulda.” Stiles smirked. 

“Always such a smart mouth on you. I enjoyed that, you know, how you always had a smart retort after you’d stopped screaming.” Gerard smiled and Erica and Boyd both flinched, Stiles didn’t miss the movement, reaching out to reassure them with a quick squeeze of their hands. Derek growled at the thought, able to imagine all too easily how much pain Stiles would have been in, how he would have screamed in agony and Derek hadn’t been there. 

“As pleasant as this conversation is, I say we kill him now.” Allison snarled, an arrow already sat in her bow and pointed at Gerard.

“You could, but, then, you’d never know about who is coming for you.” He smirked and Allison hesitated, glancing at the pack around her for any indication of what she should do. 

“It would be a lot less painful for you if you just told us what you know now.” Stiles said and Gerard grinned.

“I’d love to see what you think you can do to get me to tell you a single thing.”

“Fair enough.” Stiles remarked, taking a step forward, closing his eyes and muttering an incantation before a ball of white appeared above his outstretched palm, he pushed it forward and it struck Gerard in the head, knocking him to the ground.

Gerard gasped for breath as the ball of light seemed to surround his head, Derek wanted to ask Stiles what the hell he was doing but when he turned to look at him he saw that Stiles was swaying on the spot, his eyes closed, his face pale and his breath shuddering. He saw Stiles’ knees give and he caught him a moment before he hit the floor.

“Stiles! Stiles? Can you hear me!?” Derek asked in panic, glancing around at the rest of the pack and wondering if they knew what the hell was going on. Stiles trembled in his arms for another few minutes and Derek had never felt more hopeless until finally, thank God, the ball of magic around Gerard’s head disappeared and Stiles sucked in a deep breath, his eyes opening and looking at the pack before he grinned slightly. 

“Mind reading.” He muttered and Derek let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. 

“You okay?” Derek asked, gripping Stiles’ arm tightly as he got to his feet. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, just, probably shouldn’t have done that so soon after the shield.” He confessed, leaning against Derek who fought the urge to pull him closer, bury his nose in his neck and inhale his scent until he couldn’t smell anything else. 

“What did you do?” Jackson asked.

“He’s heard about an Alpha pack, a pack of Alpha werewolves, they’re supposedly coming in this direction but he doesn’t know for sure and he knows nothing about them. If we’re being honest, I know more about them than he does.”

“You think it’ll be the same Alpha pack from dimension fifty-two?” Lydia asked and Stiles looked at her in amazement. 

“How much of that book have you read Lyds?” He teased and Lydia shrugged.

“Not all of it, but enough. Do you think it’s the same pack?” She asked again and Stiles nodded.

“Most likely. And I took care of them. So, in this dimension, with all of you, I don’t see how they’ll be any threat to us. Plus the fact that I know things about them that they won’t know about us. So, we should be cautious, but definitely not afraid.” Stiles explained and Derek wanted to hug him so badly that he could barely think of anything else, Stiles was perfect, in every single way. 

“I have heard rumours,” Peter mused, “In the other dimension, was it Deucalion, Ennis, Kali and a pair of new Alpha twins?” Stiles looked at him stunned.

“Do you know them?” 

“I know of them. Deucalion and Ennis in particular.” Peter said, glancing to look at Derek.

“Ennis was the Alpha that bit Paige.” Derek muttered. There was silence before Stiles placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry dude.” Stiles said, “He’ll pay for it. One way or another.” Stiles added and Derek didn’t doubt his word for a second.

“What do we do about him?” Noah asked, pointing to Gerard who was still lying on the floor and groaning in pain. 

“Oh yeah, I may have been a bit more vicious than truly necessary.” Stiles explained, “He’ll recover, I guess, eventually. I want him dead, but, the choice is yours Allison. He’s your grandfather. If you want him to live, I won’t argue with you.”

“Shouldn’t the choice fall to Derek? Him being the Alpha and all?” Isaac asked in confusion.

“No.” Derek disagreed. “He is Allison’s blood. I’m with Stiles, I want him dead, but, we won’t kill him if you don’t want us to.” Allison stared at Gerard, then turned to look at the pack, took in the way that Erica and Boyd still reached out for Stiles as if afraid of him being snatched away by Gerard or anyone else and that made her decision very easy.

“I don’t want you to kill him.” She said firmly, ignoring the look of incredulity on the faces of the rest of the pack, seeing Derek and Stiles both maintain neutral facial expressions as if they didn’t want her to see their disappointment. “He’s my blood. It’s my responsibility.” She continued, marching forwards and standing above Gerard, pulling the bow to her shoulder.

“Allison…don’t do this…I’m your grandfather…they’re monsters.” Gerard panted, looking like an innocent, frail, old man. 

“The only monster here is you.” Allison replied calmly before releasing the bow string and watching her arrow sink into his chest. She continued staring until his chest stopped moving, until he gasped his last breath and his eyes glazed over, only then did she feel the hands of her pack on her shoulders, her wrists, her waist, heard them whispering words of reassurance, of comfort, of love. She hadn’t even realised she’d been crying, but, she’d killed him, she’d killed her grandfather, but, he was a monster, there was no denying that. He’d tortured a sixteen-year-old human, he’d tried to kill them all, he’d been willing to use the kanima to kill her if he didn’t get the bite. He was a monster.

They all went back to the Stilinski house after that, as if it had somehow become their base of operations in the last few days. None of them wanted to go home, they wanted to be surrounded by their pack, where they felt safe. 

Stiles had sat down on the sofa and had been snoring gently a minute later, the magic must have exhausted him, Derek thought it would be a good idea to go get groceries while Stiles was asleep, the cupboards were already bare and Stiles would no doubt need more food to recover when he woke up. Lydia offered to come with him when he explained what he was going to do and he shrugged in agreement before moving to his car. 

“You should know about the other person, the person Stiles…” Lydia began.

“I know. The one he thought he could have had something with in the other dimension.” Derek grumbled, surprised when Lydia pulled Stiles’ book from her bag when they got to the store.

“I’ll go buy the groceries, you should read this, it’s important.” Lydia said, handing him the book and opening it to a page that was obviously relevant. Derek saw the pictures of Laura, Stiles and him pressed into the centre of the page. “Stay here. Read. I’ll be back in a bit.” Lydia said before she climbed out of the car and Derek stared after her in bewilderment. He thought a lot of Lydia but couldn’t she see that he didn’t want to do this, he didn’t want to know that Stiles had met deputy Palmer in another dimension and fallen in love with him. He knew that she’d know if he didn’t read it so he sighed heavily and started to read from the top of the page.

‘I think this might be the hardest dimension to leave. I know it’s not home, I know it’s not. But, it’s something special. Laura is something special, no wonder Derek thinks the world of her, she is awesome, I wish she’d survived in our world, in my world. I wish I’d got to see what my Derek would have been like if she hadn’t died. I wonder if he’d be more like this Derek? This Derek is, well, he’s no good at communication, he still growls a lot and he still lost his family to Kate, but he didn’t lose his sister, didn’t have to murder his uncle, the last member of his family, and, yeah, okay Peter came back, but, Derek still killed him, and I know he likes to pretend it doesn’t bother him but I know better, it bothers him. He never wanted to do it and he had to do it to protect the town, to protect their secret, to protect everything.’

Derek paused, he’d had no idea that Stiles had realised that, he thought he’d hidden it well, the pain that killing Peter had caused him, but, somehow Stiles had seen it. He scanned further down the page, wondering what else Stiles might have noticed.

‘Holy fuck! Okay, so, sweet Mary mother of God, Derek kissed me, Derek freaking Hale kissed me and it was, oh god, it was incredible. It was, it was mind-blowing, it was, holy shit, I think I might explode, like, I’m pretty sure my brain went into shock because Derek kissed me!!! Okay, so it wasn’t my Derek, the Derek from home, it was this Derek, and that’s not the same thing, they’re not the same people, like at all. But, still, I’ve been wanting to kiss him for, well, probably around the time he saved me from Peter in the hospital, but, that would never happen because he doesn’t see me like that, and that’s fine. I had accepted that I never had a chance with Derek because he’s amazing, he’s funny, he’s quick witted, and yeah he growls a lot but he’s had a lot of bad shit happen to him and I think it’s okay to sometimes growl at people when they’re being jackasses, I’m getting off topic here, but, the point is, Derek and I, we’re not even in the same league.’

Derek scoffed, Stiles was ridiculous, how could he not see that he was perfect? How could he not know that Derek was completely and utterly in love with him?

‘So, yeah, I’d never expected to actually get to kiss him and now, now it makes the thought of leaving even harder, because here, here I get him and at home, I don’t. And, I know, I know my family is at home, my dad, my pack, but this, I just want this, just for a while longer. I could stay, couldn’t I? Just for a bit longer? Just enjoy having this, even if it’s not the real Derek? What the hell am I saying? Of course I can’t. He’s not my Derek, not the real Derek. And okay, he’s still awesome, but he’s not, this isn’t my home. I have to get back to them, no matter what.’

Christ, how could Derek not have realised how close he came to losing Stiles? Just by never telling him how he felt? Stiles could have chosen to stay in another freaking dimension just to stay with that version of Derek. He was an idiot. He needed to tell him how he felt. 

‘I explained to Laura and Derek that I wasn’t going to stay, that I had to move on, had to get back to my real home. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. This Derek told me that if the Derek at home hadn’t already declared his undying love for me then he was an idiot, it made me laugh, and maybe then cry a little bit, because if there’s one thing I’m certain on, it’s that the real Derek won’t ever want me like that. Laura laughed when I said that, saying some things don’t change no matter what dimension I’m in. I think she’s wrong but I guess I can hope. Or maybe not, I made such an idiot of myself every time I was around him back home, he wouldn’t be interested me, and hoping he’ll change his mind is just a waste of time, and it’ll just make it even more awkward for him. So, yeah, no hope is good. I didn’t tell Laura or Derek that though, I think Laura knew what I was thinking anyway, I think she might be a mind reader. I’ll have to ask my Derek if she was like that in our dimension too. She hugged me tight and I think she might have been crying but then she told me to go already because she was sick of the sight of me, I told her I loved her too and then I hugged Derek and made the jump. I knew if I didn’t do it then, I wasn’t going to be strong enough to leave them. God, I’m going to miss them. I’m going to miss them so fucking much.’ 

The entry ended and a new entry started on the next page, a new dimension, Derek didn’t read it, didn’t want to read it. He wanted to go to Stiles, wanted to tell him that there was hope, that Derek was an idiot for not telling him before but he was in love with him, that he would declare his undying love for him if it meant that Stiles would never even have to think about leaving him again. He looked around in agitation, he needed to get home to Stiles now, he needed to tell him now before it was too late. 

He jumped out of the car and ran into the store, bumping into Lydia just as she was leaving the checkouts with a trolley full of groceries, he couldn’t stop the grin on his face.

“Stiles is in love with me!” He said happily and Lydia smiled fondly.

“Yes he is.” 

“I have to tell him I love him too.” Derek said, grabbing the trolley from her hands and practically running out to the car, Lydia shaking her head in amusement as she strolled after him, sliding elegantly into the passenger seat while he almost tipped the trolley upside down to empty its contents into the trunk before he ran back to the driver’s seat, fired up the car and tore out of the car park.

“I’m really happy for both of you.” Lydia said when they were part way home.

“Stiles loves me.” Derek grinned.

“Yeah, so you said.” Lydia rolled her eyes, knowing she was going to get no sense out of him for the rest of the trip. He screeched to a stop outside the Stilinski household, shoving the door open and running to the front door, Stiles opening it and looking worried.

“What’s wrong? Is it the Alpha pack?” Stiles asked, looking around the quickly approaching Derek to check Lydia was okay and that nobody was about to attack them. What he wasn’t expecting was for Derek to grab his cheeks between his hands and kiss him. 

He was pretty sure his mind stopped working, it was the only reason why he didn’t respond immediately, because, seriously? Derek was kissing him. He was allowed to forget how to breathe, right? That was allowable, wasn’t it? 

Derek pulled away a moment later, looking at Stiles with worry in his eyes and Stiles still hadn’t figured out how to speak, he was staring at Derek like he’d just lost his mind, maybe he had, maybe Derek was possessed or something? And Stiles hadn’t pushed him away immediately, God, he couldn’t even sense anything possessing Derek, was he losing his magic or something? He knew he should have had something to eat already. 

“Stiles? Are you…I’m sorry, I thought you, I’m sorry. God, I’m sorry, you said, I read that… I was wrong. God, I’m so sorry.” Derek rambled and Stiles stared at Derek in bewilderment, what the hell was he…

Stiles saw Lydia carrying his book in from the car and he felt all the colour drain from his face, oh god, Derek read the book and he read about, he read about Stiles and other Derek kissing, and, oh shit. He tried to remember what other embarrassing things he’d written in there, shit, why had he ever let Lydia read that book!? There were so many personal things in there, why the hell had he said it was okay for her to read it and Jesus, why would Derek kiss him? This didn’t make any sense, not that it hadn’t been awesome, but, what, why would Derek kiss him?

“I’m an idiot.” Derek said quietly and Stiles swung his gaze back to Derek, “I am in love with you. I have been for a while and I read, I read in your book about what happened, in the other dimension, with the other me, and, I thought, I thought that meant you felt the same, but, I’m sorry. I’m an idiot and I sure as hell shouldn’t have kissed you like that. Not without your permission. I’m really sorry. If you want me to leave now or whatever that’s completely understandable, but, can you, will you, I know I’ve made you uncomfortable and everything, but, please don’t leave the pack because of this?” Derek rambled. Stiles was still staring at him with wide shocked eyes and Derek wasn’t sure what the hell else he was supposed to do. 

He turned to move back towards the car, cursing his idiocy, why did he do that? Why didn’t he just talk to Stiles in private? Make sure of his feelings before he did something like that, in front of the whole pack? He was an idiot.

“Wait!” Stiles squeaked out, his voice cracking as he rushed forward and grabbed Derek by the shoulder, “You are an idiot.” Stiles agreed and Derek let out a harsh chuckle, he knew that much already. “You should have freaking said something, you should have told me that I even had a freaking chance with you, that there was even the possibility of a chance with you. You’re an idiot because you didn’t tell me.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t tell me either.” Derek pouted, ignoring the pack that were all looking on from the doorway with amusement in their eyes. 

“Are you calling me an idiot?” Stiles grinned, “You come running towards the house like someone is chasing you, kiss me, tell me you love me and then call me an idiot?” He teased lightly and Derek felt an answering grin on his own lips. 

“Yeah, I guess so.” Derek admitted.

“Alright, well, how about we try this again? Alright, so, Derek, here’s the thing, I’m crazy about you, completely and utterly gone on you. So, would you think about maybe going out on a date with me? There will be food, I’ll make us a meal or something and a crappy movie that neither of us will watch because we’ll be too busy making out and dad will yell at us to keep the bedroom door open and you’ll leave but then climb back in through the window later on and we’ll spend the whole night talking about all the shit we don’t say because we’re too idiotically stupid to share what we’re thinking and I’ll tell you all about the other dimensions and you can tell me about Laura and we can compare notes and I can show you some of the other things I learned with Alfie and then we can fall asleep in the early hours of the morning after another make out session, despite the fact we said we were going to talk all night, because we’re both worn out. So, how does that sound? Want to give it a shot?” Stiles asked and Derek smiled brightly. 

“Only if I get to kiss you again now?” Derek asked and Stiles laughed, wrapping his arms around Derek’s neck and pulling them closer, Derek’s arms going around Stiles’ waist and feeling the press of Stiles’ body against his own. He leaned down just a fraction, brushing his lips against Stiles’, unable to stop the smile on his own lips when this time Stiles responded eagerly, allowing his own lips to part, letting out a low moan when Derek dug his teeth ever so slightly into Stiles’ bottom lip and pulled just the slightest bit. 

“Jesus.” Stiles muttered when they finally pulled apart a few minutes later, “Okay, let’s skip the attempted meal and just go straight to more making out.” Stiles said, his stomach choosing that exact moment to rumble with hunger. 

“Food first, then more kissing.” Derek agreed, leaning in and kissing Stiles again, only meaning to give him a quick peck on the lips but ending up in another mind melting kiss. 

“Alright get a room you two!” Noah called out from the doorway and then broke apart suddenly, both blushing furiously but still keeping their arms around each other, unwilling to let the other go.

“Sorry dad.” Stiles mumbled.

“I’ll let you off, young love and all that. But, I believe you promised food, which you can make all of us, and then we can all sit and watch a movie that you will watch and you can go in your room and close the door, I’ll even consider allowing Derek to stay over, on the condition that I do not have to ever witness you two with your tongues down each other’s throats again. In your room, fine, but, not in front of me. Sound fair?” 

“Have I ever mentioned how much I love you daddio?” Stiles grinned, grabbing Derek’s hand and leading him towards the house, allowing the rest of the pack to get the groceries from the car so that he could make them all something for tea.

“Are you sure, about this? You want this? Want me? Even though I’m not the most, um, emotionally balanced person available?” Derek asked nervously. Stiles turned around to look at him and then pulled him close. 

“Yes. One hundred percent yes. In all honesty, I’m not exactly very well emotionally adjusted either, but, I think, between the two of us, we can work, and more than that, I want to be with you Derek, just you, for the rest of my life, because I’m in love with you and you’re in love with me and whatever happens, we’ve got each other, always, so, yeah, I want this. More than anything. Okay?” Stiles asked and Derek nodded eagerly.

“Okay.” He agreed, pulling Stiles in for another lingering kiss, letting out a chuckle and pulling away when Noah cleared his throat from the doorway. 

They did end up watching a film together, Stiles curling up happily into Derek’s side and intertwining their fingers while the film played in the background. One by one the pack drifted off to sleep, Noah went to bed and Derek and Stiles knew they were the only ones left awake. Stiles pressed a finger to his lips and pulled him silently from the sofa and leading him up the stairs, shutting the bedroom door behind them, moving them towards the bed. 

“Stiles…” Derek whined, needing to touch him, to kiss him, to feel him underneath him. He was silenced when Stiles leaned upwards and pressed their lips together, a long, steamy kiss that left them both panting for breath when they finally pulled apart. Stiles turned to the door, muttering a quick incantation under his breath and then turning to look at Derek with a small smile on his lips.

“Sound proofing spell, I hope that’s okay? I just, I don’t want to wake anyone up, even if we just talk, I’m not saying like we have to have sex or anything, although I kind of would like to, but, I’m happy with anything, just the fact that you know, you’re here and you want to be with me and…” Stiles was silenced this time by Derek’s mouth slamming into his, his tongue delving into his mouth, his hands grabbing him and pulling him closer as if he couldn’t bear for them to be apart.

Derek’s hands ran under Stiles’ t-shirt, pulling it up and throwing it to the floor, taking a minute to just stare at Stiles’ body, the black runes that covered his chest, stomach and sides, that would no doubt be on his back as well. 

“Der?” Stiles asked with worry and Derek realised he’d been staring. 

“Sorry, just, fuck, you are breath-taking.” He admitted, moving closer again so that he could kiss Stiles, trace the tattoos with his fingers, “God I want to do that with my tongue.” He muttered and Stiles shivered with desire. 

“Jesus Derek, if you say things like that I’m going to end up cumming in my pants.” Stiles panted and Derek grinned, moving his mouth, first to the side of Stiles’ neck, sucking a dark mark into his skin, leaving Stiles arching against him in an attempt for more friction, before he moved lower and started to lick at the tattoo that covered most of Stiles’ collarbone. “Fuck.” Stiles moaned, the word drawn out with pleasure, it made Derek hum happily as he pushed Stiles backwards onto the bed, climbing over him and working his way over every inch of the tattoos with his tongue, Stiles’ cock straining against his jeans, his chest heaving and his eyes blown wide with desire. 

Derek pulled his own shirt off at some point, desperate to get skin on skin contact, undoing Stiles’ jeans and pulling them off with ease, leaving Stiles lying naked on his bed, looking completely wrecked before Derek had even touched his cock. He pulled his own clothes off and Stiles stared at his cock with wide eyes, mouth hanging open, Derek smiled, returning to his ministrations of Stiles’ tattoos. 

“Turn over.” Derek ordered and Stiles nodded quickly before turning onto his stomach, Derek was happy to see that the tattoos did indeed cover Stiles’ back and he leant over him, his cock pressing against Stiles’ ass as he licked and sucked at the pale skin underneath him, Stiles’ desperate pants and pleas making Derek’s cock twitch with pleasure. He wanted to take his time, make this last, it was taking every ounce of control he had not to rush this, he wanted Stiles to enjoy this. “You’ll tell me if you want me to stop, won’t you? I don’t want to push you into this. I don't want to make you uncomfortable.” Stiles rolled over to look him seriously.

“Derek, I've already told you, what happened with Finn and Heather, I've moved past it, I don't know that I'll ever get over it, but, I'm not the same person I was straight after it, it's been years for me and I've processed it, I've dealt with it. You’re not pressuring me, you're not pushing me. I promise you, I’ll tell you if I’m not happy with something, hell, I could probably blast you off the bed with a twitch of my little finger.” Stiles replied and Derek laughed.

“Yeah you probably could do.” He agreed, tracing his hands over Stiles’ tattoos again as he leaned down to kiss him. “I love you.” He muttered against Stiles’ lips, running his hands over Stiles’ skin, not sure he’d ever be able to stop, he had wanted to do it for so long and now he knew he could, whenever he wanted. Stiles’ hands traced across Derek’s back, hesitating for a moment on his tattoo, before he moved them downwards, groping Derek’s ass and pushing it down so that their cock’s pressed together, both of them letting out gasps of pleasure at the contact. 

“I love you too.” Stiles whispered in reply when he’d caught his breath again, “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of saying that, you know? I just, Derek, I love you so freaking much and I can’t, being with you like this, it’s something I never thought would happen, and, just, thank you, thank you for loving me back.” Stiles rambled. 

“It’s not exactly hard to love you Stiles, you’re smart, you’re funny, you’re sarcastic, you’re loyal, you care about everyone, you’re a good man Stiles, and, well, the hardest part about all of this has been resisting you, telling myself that I couldn’t have you because you deserve better than me.” Derek replied and Stiles glared at him angrily.

“No. No, I deserve you because you are amazing and you deserve me because I’m awesome. We deserve good things Derek, we deserve good people, we deserve each other. And, now, well, now you’re stuck with me. Because I’m in love with you and I’m never letting you go, even if that means supergluing our hands together or something equally idiotic.” Stiles said and Derek laughed, burying his head against Stiles’ throat as he laughed into his skin. 

“Okay, fair enough. You don’t need superglue to keep me though. I’m yours Stiles. For as long as you want me.” He confessed honestly and Stiles pulled his head back enough that they could look each other in the eyes.

“Forever Derek. I want you forever. And I’m yours too. Only yours.” He said seriously and Derek felt his wolf purr at those words, that Stiles was theirs, his vision was tinted with red as he pulled Stiles into a tight brutal kiss but Stiles moaned happily as if that was what he had wanted all along. Derek pressed his hips down again and he wasn’t sure which one of them groaned louder at the contact, Stiles arching his hips up to meet Derek’s thrusts, Stiles reached down as if to grab both of their cock’s and Derek let out a playful growl as he grabbed Stiles’ hands and pinned them to the bed above his head. 

“No. I’ll cum too quickly.” Derek growled and Stiles grinned. 

“Why? Is touching my body turning you on that much?” Stiles teased, wriggling slightly under Derek and chuckling when Derek panted at the contact. 

“Yes, yeah, it really is, and I’m not cumming until I’ve fucked you, until you’ve screamed my name as you cum, until you can’t even remember how to speak or move, so we need to slow down.” Derek admitted and Stiles blushed slightly, as if surprised by his confession before he nodded eagerly.

“Okay, yeah, yeah I can, we can do that.” He replied, his voice trailing off into a loud moan when Derek sucked another hickey into the skin above his pulse point. Derek let go of Stiles’ hands, moving his way down Stiles’ body, kissing, sucking, licking and even nibbling as he went, loving the way that Stiles responded so eagerly, arching his body up in an effort to keep contact with Derek for as long as he could. 

When Derek licked from the base of Stiles’ cock to the tip Stiles let out a cry of pleasure that Derek wanted to hear again, that he would happily listen to for the rest of his life, he repeated the action, this time sucking the tip of Stiles’ cock into his mouth and Stiles gasped out his name, tangling his fingers in Derek’s hair and holding him there, Derek looked up, meeting Stiles’ gaze, before he slowly worked his way downwards, swallowing as much of Stiles’ cock as he could before he moved back to the tip and then sucked down again, harder and faster this time, his wolf humming with pride when Stiles tugged his hair and thrust upwards in Derek’s mouth. 

“God, sorry, sorry.” Stiles muttered as if worried he’d hurt Derek. Derek rolled his eyes without taking his mouth from Stiles’ cock, moving his hands to grab Stiles’ ass and pull it upwards again, driving his cock deeper into his mouth. Stiles’ eyes going wide with desire, his hands still tangled in Derek’s hair as he took the hint and thrust upwards again. “Okay, okay, dude, if you want me to last any longer we totally need to stop.” Stiles said, pulling on Derek’s hair just a little bit as if to pull him off. Derek complied, smirking up at Stiles.

“I think I actually said that I wasn’t going to cum until I’d fucked you senseless, I didn’t say anything about you not cumming.” Derek grinned before he moved back to Stiles’ cock, grabbed his ass and kept thrusting it into his mouth, taking it as deep as he could. 

“Fuck, Jesus, Derek, oh, oh my god, fuck.” Stiles panted, feeling his orgasm building and knowing he wasn’t going to hold out much longer. He wanted to say it was because he was a virgin, that he was new to all this so it shouldn’t be a surprise if he didn’t last long, but, really, he was certain it was because of Derek, because of Derek looking up at him as he swallowed Stiles’ cock, Derek’s eyes staring at him, the beginnings of red in the irises as if he was on the edge of losing control just from sucking Stiles’ cock. 

He tried to think of something else, tried to make himself last longer but then there was a rumble in Derek’s chest, almost a purr, and Stiles lost any attempt at holding his orgasm at bay.

“Fuck, Derek, shit, god, I’m going to, Christ, Derek…” Stiles started, his words turning to a moan of pleasure when Derek twisted his tongue slightly and his orgasm raced through him, his cock pulsing as he came in Derek’s mouth. Derek swallowed Stiles’ load happily, licking his cock repeatedly to make sure he had got it all and grinning widely while Stiles stared at him, looking blissed out and completely wrecked. “That was…shit, that was amazing Derek.” Stiles muttered, a faint blush on his cheeks. 

“You still want more, don’t you?” He asked, “I mean, we can stop now if you like, but, I’d really like to fuck you, but, only if you want to.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I do.” Stiles replied, licking his lips and pulling Derek up for another kiss until he pulled away a moment later. “I’ve never, I’ve not done this before, I know you know that already, but, yeah, just, what do you want me to do?” He asked nervously, wondering if Derek would be disappointed that Stiles didn’t know what the hell he was doing. Derek seemed to be able to read his mind though because he cupped Stiles’ jaw and gave him a soft, sweet, gently kiss that made Stiles’ cock twitch in a valiant attempt to get hard again, god bless teenage recovery rates. 

“We’ll take it slow, okay? And if you aren’t comfortable at any point, you tell me and I’ll stop.” Derek said seriously and Stiles nodded, smiling when Derek kissed him again, Derek’s hands moving down to his groin, playing for a minute with his cock until Stiles was hard again, and, seriously, that was fucking impressive, he felt so responsive, like he would do anything Derek asked even if usually he’d need at least an hour to get hard again. 

Stiles felt one of his fingers press gently against his hole and he did his best to relax, Derek kissing him slowly, softly, gently, his finger moving in slow circular patterns and Stiles sighing with pleasure into his mouth. It took a little while, and a bit of lube, before Derek was sliding three fingers slowly into Stiles, his own cock achingly hard and dripping with precum where it was pressed into Stiles’ hip, Stiles was panting, covered in a sheen of sweat as he muttered Derek’s name over and over.

“Please Derek, please, please, I’m ready, please, I need you, Derek, Derek, please.” Stiles pleaded and Derek gave him a long lingering kiss before he climbed in between Stiles’ legs and continued his slow fingering. “Please Derek.” Stiles muttered again, groaning out with pleasure when Derek’s fingers hit a particularly sensitive spot. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay Stiles, I’ve got you.” Derek replied, knowing that Stiles was on the edge of coming apart at the seams, he was going to make him cum so hard that Stiles would scream his name, let everyone know how well he pleasured his mate, he was going to fuck him slowly, drag it out for as long as he could, then hold Stiles through what was going to be the best orgasm of his life so far. Derek grabbed a pillow, propping it under Stiles’ ass, he pulled his fingers out and Stiles let out a whimper at the loss but before he could say anything, Derek started to press his cock in. Stiles’ eyes went wide, his mouth going slack and his hands stilling on Derek’s back. “Are you okay?” Derek asked and Stiles nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, keep going, please.” Stiles said, moving his hands to Derek’s ass and pushing just slightly. Derek eased in a little bit further and Stiles gasped, “God, you are fucking huge, so big, so good.” He muttered and Derek shook his head fondly, kissing Stiles again before he pushed in a little further. When he was finally all the way in, he stilled, giving Stiles time to adjust to his size, knowing that he’d do anything to make this as pleasurable for Stiles as possible, needing a moment himself in order to try and control his wolf that was currently howling in triumph at the fact that they were finally claiming their mate properly. “Okay, yeah, move Derek, please, please move.” Stiles pleaded and Derek complied, easing part of the way out and then slowly pushing back in again. “Oh god, feels so good Derek, you feel so fucking good.” Stiles said.

“You too, Christ, Stiles, you feel so good, so tight, so hot, god, you feel incredible.” Derek whispered reverently. That wasn’t even the beginning of explaining it, Stiles felt right, he felt perfect, it felt like he was home, he could have burst into tears at just how perfect it felt for him, he hoped Stiles felt like this too but he didn’t want to embarrass himself if Stiles didn’t feel the same way. 

“God, please, Derek, please, I’m going to explode if you don’t move, I’m going to burn up, you feel so good, this feels so fucking perfect, like, god, so perfect.” Stiles confessed, sounding like he was on the verge of tears and Derek smiled softly, kissing him gently and cupping his cheek with one hand. 

“I feel the same way Stiles, I feel like I’ve been searching for this my whole life and I’m finally home.” He confessed and Stiles’ eyes went wide, freezing for a second before he pushed himself upwards, pulling Derek into a deep kiss, muttering something against Derek’s lips that sounded something like ‘me too, home, love you, fuck, so perfect, please’ but he wasn’t really sure, the movement had caused a change in position just slightly and Derek was finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than the fact that his cock was buried deep in Stiles’ ass and that they were going to do this over and over, whenever they wanted. He thrust forward, experimentally, just to see how Stiles would react, Stiles grinned against his lips, pulled him closer, whispered for more and Derek was going to lose his freaking mind. He thrust forward again, slightly harder this time, still trying to control himself, terrified of hurting Stiles.

“Please Derek, I’m not going to break, please, please, fuck me.” Stiles pleaded and Derek lost what little control he had left, thrusting forward again, harder and faster and feeling like he was going to cum too soon, he wanted this to last longer but he wasn’t sure he could hold out. “Der, god, oh god, please, please, don’t stop, oh, oh my god, just, fuck, Derek.” Stiles muttered, he looked to be on the edge of another orgasm and Derek pressed his hips lower, brushing Stiles’ cock against his stomach and thrusting forwards again, Stiles practically screaming with the pleasure and Derek felt his hole tighten up around him, he didn’t need the warning that Stiles was giving him but it was still amazing to hear, “Derek, Derek, god, fuck, I’m going to, Derek, Derek!” Stiles gasped, cumming hard against Derek’s stomach, it was enough to send Derek over the edge, he thrust once more, hard and deep and burying himself as deep into Stiles as he could before his orgasm exploded through him. 

“Stiles, shit, Stiles!” Derek panted, his fangs and claws both coming out and his vision going completely red as his wolf took over and he continued to grind into Stiles as if he could go deeper if he just pushed a bit harder. 

They lay in silence for a few moments as they both tried to catch their breath, Stiles’ fingers tracing random patterns on Derek’s back as Derek gripped tightly to the pillow beneath Stiles’ head, doing his best to get control enough to get his claws to withdraw. He should have known that Stiles would be the first to regain the ability to speak. 

“Well, that was freaking awesome.” Stiles said and Derek nodded in agreement, words still beyond him, his cock still twitching and pulsing inside of Stiles and his vision still red. “I, um, I’d be happy doing that again, you know, if you would? I mean, it was okay for you too?” 

“Yes. Definitely. Doing again.” Derek ground out, needing Stiles to know that he wanted him again more than anything, but that he still needed a minute to get his breath back, god, that orgasm, Christ, he’d never felt anything like it before, it felt like he was still cumming, it was, it was unbelievably incredible. 

“I don’t think like right now though.” Stiles smiled and Derek nodded, not really understanding what he was on about, the confusion must have shown on his face as Stiles continued, “I mean, I loved it, don’t get me wrong, but I think, I think if you give me another orgasm tonight my brain is going to melt, and, like, you seem to be, erm, I don’t want to sound like I’m not impressed with your recovery rate, it’s like, really freaking impressive, but, you seem to be getting harder? Or, well, I’m not sure you stopped being hard actually, but, maybe, bigger? Bigger is probably a good word. Bigger, yeah, and it was really freaking awesome, but, two orgasms in like an hour is kind of my limit right now, and maybe we can work on having more in a shorter space of time in the future and all that, but, um, I don’t think I’m capable of going again just yet, which I hope doesn’t like, really disappoint you or anything, and seriously? Is this like turning you on or something, because, seriously, you just seem to be getting ever bigger while I’m talking, and, god it feels good, but, I can’t go again Derek, I’ll fall apart, I’ll lose the use of my legs, I’ll be unable to stand and Jesus, fuck, you are seriously growing, like, what the fuck? You weren’t this big before, were you?” 

Derek finally allowed what Stiles was saying to filter through his brain, in all fairness he had been trying to pay attention but his cock was twitching and pulsing and he felt like he was still cumming and he was trembling with pleasure and he could barely think straight until something Stiles said made him pay attention. 

“Sorry.” He muttered, not meaning to make Stiles uncomfortable, he went to pull out and both Stiles and Derek yelped, letting out a little sound of pain before looking at each other in confusion. 

“Um, what was that?” Stiles asked sounding a little worried as Derek tried again to pull out before wincing and pressing back against Stiles when it felt like something was catching against Stiles’ hole, not allowing him to pull out. 

“I, I don’t know.” Derek said panicked, his mind racing and all thoughts of pleasure rapidly exiting his mind, he pulled again and Stiles whimpered and Derek decided there was no way he was going to be able to pull it out without hurting Stiles. 

“Did you…” Stiles began, his eyes going wide and letting out a little gasp of pleasure when Derek shifted and it hit just the right spot, “Did you knot me!?” He asked incredulously and Derek stared at him in horror. 

“What?! No! I can’t, that doesn’t, we can’t do that. It’s a myth.” Derek said, his mind racing as he tried to think of something else, anything else that it could be and not coming up with anything. He glanced down to where Stiles and he were tied together and his eyes went comically wide. “Shit, I think, I think I knotted you.” He confessed. He wasn’t sure what to expect from Stiles, but it wasn’t for him to burst into laughter before it dissolved into a groan of pleasure when he shifted and Derek’s cock throbbed inside him. “I’m so sorry, god, I’m so sorry.” Derek muttered, not knowing how the hell this had happened and trying to figure out what to do while still fighting the orgasm flowing through him.

“Dude, relax, it’s not the worst thing that could have happened and it’s not like it feels awful, in fact, it kind of feels awesome, now I know what’s going on.” Stiles smiled, wriggling slightly against him before he hummed in contentment and Derek fought back a growl at how god damn good it felt. 

“Stiles!” He muttered in exasperation, “You’re going to kill me if you carry on doing that.” 

“What?” Stiles asked innocently, “This?” He asked, wriggling his hips again and Derek groaned with pleasure. “I’m sorry, do you want me to stop?” He teased and Derek huffed out a laugh before rolling them so they were lying sideways facing each other, still tied together.

“I don’t think I can do anything right now.” Derek said, trembling through another wave of pleasure. 

“So how does this work?” Stiles asked and Derek rolled his eyes. 

“I don’t know how this works Stiles, I didn’t even know I could do this until right now.” Derek replied.

“Okay, so, like, are you still cumming?” Stiles queried, Derek paused before nodding quickly, “That is so hot.” Stiles grinned and Derek smiled fondly before kissing him gently.

“It’s also kind of overwhelming.” Derek admitted.

“Okay, well, I’ll try and stay still then.” Stiles smiled softly, “But, I mean, how long do you think we’re going to be tied together like this? I mean, again, not saying I don’t like it, I actually kind of love it, but, I think dad might be a bit pissed if we’re still like this at the breakfast table in the morning.” Stiles joked.

“Next time you can fuck me and then we won’t have this issue.” Derek replied and Stiles gaped at him. “What?” 

“Um, you would, you’d let me, you’d want to do that?” Stiles asked and Derek looked at him in bemusement before he nodded, he’d let Stiles do anything he liked and he’d thought about it a lot before, before he met Stiles, hell, before he met Kate, but, since then, he thought he wouldn’t ever be able to trust anyone enough to do something like that to him. He trusted Stiles implicitly. “Wow, okay, well if the thought of that doesn’t get me hard then I think my dick is actually broken.” Stiles said, glancing down to see where his cock did indeed seem to be trying to get hard again, Derek snorted at him in amusement. 

“I think we need sleep, then we can figure everything else out.” Derek said, suddenly exhausted now that his orgasm seemed to have finally ceased, he draped the sheet over them, wrapping his hands around Stiles and pulling him into his chest, hearing Stiles sigh contentedly before both of them drifted off to sleep. 

“Derek! Stiles!” Someone was shouting his name and they sounded panicked, Derek blinked awake as quickly as he could, the deep weariness only an incredible sex session could give him vanishing rapidly as the bedroom door burst open and half the pack burst into the room. Stiles chose that moment to wake up, blinking up at the doorway in confusion from where he was half sprawled across Derek’s chest. 

“Soundproofing spell.” He muttered sleepily, wiping the sleep from his eyes and moving back to cuddle Derek again. Derek stared at him in admiration, how the hell had Stiles known what had the pack so worried when Derek hadn’t had a freaking clue? More importantly though, how come Stiles looked this adorable first thing in the morning? It wasn’t fair, it should be illegal. Derek paused, realising that he was going to be able to see this every morning and he grinned, Stiles was his. 

“Eww.” Scott muttered, “As if it doesn’t already stink enough in here.” He said, a hint of amusement in his voice, before turning hurriedly and going back down the stairs, the rest of pack going after him. Derek allowed Stiles another five minutes of sleep before he shifted under him and Stiles groaned.

“No, no, let’s not get up, let’s stay in bed.” Stiles groaned.

“Come on Stiles, we’ve got to get up, I’ll make you breakfast.” Derek bribed. 

“Pancakes?” Stiles asked, finally blinking his eyes and looking up at him. 

“Whatever you want.” Derek smiled and Stiles broke into a cheeky grin. 

“Oh really? Whatever I want?” He said seductively. 

“We can hear you!” Peter called from downstairs and Stiles glared at the closed door. 

“I could cast another soundproofing spell?” Stiles offered a moment before his stomach rumbled loudly.

“Or we could go get breakfast so you can eat and come back up here later after all the supernaturally inclined creatures with super hearing have left?” Derek suggested.

“But that’s so long.” Stiles pouted and Derek chuckled, leaning up to give him a kiss before lifting him out of the bed and putting his feet on the floor. Stiles winced slightly and Derek looked at him in worry, thinking he should have been more careful, Stiles brushed the concerns away before Derek could utter a word. “So last night was awesome.” He said, turning to grab some clothes from his drawers and grimacing when Derek’s cum leaked out of his ass, it made Derek’s wolf preen with pride, Derek might have been preening a bit too and Stiles grinned at him fondly. “You wolves and your scents.” Stiles chuckled. 

“Sorry.” Derek blushed and Stiles shook his head.

“I’m pretty sure my scent is all over you too.” He replied, tracing his fingers over Derek’s stomach where Stiles’ cum had covered it the night before. Derek felt his cock get hard at that and Stiles glanced down at it. “Are you sure you don’t want me to cast the spell?” Derek took a slow, steadying breath before he shook his head.

“No, we’ve got all the time in the world. Come on, food is important too.” Derek said, borrowing a pair of Stiles’ sweats and a hoodie before moving to the door. 

“So, you two had fun then?” Peter asked when they moved into the kitchen, sipping at a mug of coffee smugly and Stiles smirked back at him. 

“Yeah, lots of fun actually.” Stiles replied, glad that at least his dad was still in bed and out of earshot for his next comment, he waited until Peter took another mouthful of coffee and then spoke, “So, what do you know about knotting?” He asked casually. 

It was so totally worth it. Peter spat out his coffee, dropped his mug and spilled it all over his lap and he stared at Stiles like he’d grown a second head before he turned to look at Derek who looked amused at Stiles’ antics.

“What!? Sorry, what? Are you serious?” Peter asked in shock. 

“Huh, there goes my theory it was only born wolves.” Stiles replied and Derek huffed out a laugh, ignoring the way the rest of the pack was staring at Stiles and Derek (could Derek call it admiration? Isaac and Erica yes, definitely, Jackson and Scott looked kind of jealous, but he wasn’t even going to think about that) “Maybe it’s because you’re the Alpha?” Stiles teased and Derek mock growled at him which only made Stiles laugh.

“You mean, hang on, Derek and you, he, um, he knotted you?” Scott asked hesitantly, blushing bright red as he spoke and Stiles grinned widely, proudly even, he was so god damn happy right now, nothing was going to ruin it, “Dude, way too much information.” Scott complained.

“We can talk about you and Allison if you’d prefer? Maybe about the first time you had sex and you were worried about…” Stiles began.

“No, no, let’s not.” Scott shut him up quickly, still blushing brightly. Stiles grinned, clapping Scott happily on the shoulder.

“Okay, let’s talk about the Alpha pack instead then.” Stiles said changing the subject and reaching out to grab Derek’s hand. 

Stiles knew, he knew things wouldn’t be perfect every day, that they’d still face down threats on a regular basis, that sometimes they’d argue, they were all human (if not strictly one hundred percent) and they’d have differences in opinion, he knew that. But he also knew that they were a pack, that he had travelled sixty-four different dimensions in order to find them again, to be with them again. He wouldn’t risk ever losing that. Not to mention that he knew Derek was his, and he was Derek’s and together they’d always have each other’s backs, the way it had always been, the way it would always be, they’d survive together, they’d not just survive, they’d blossom. Whatever came for him or them or the town, whatever it was, they’d face it as a pack, they’d defeat it as a pack. 

He looked around the room, at the faces that were gathered there, at Peter as he spoke about the Alpha pack, at Scott as he actually listened to him, at Allison who was staring intently at the table as if already drawing up a battle plan, at Jackson who tried to look like he didn’t care but it was obvious he did, at Lydia who queried something Peter said and he smiled at her apparently impressed by her intelligence, at Erica who gripped tightly to Boyd’s arm at the mention of Gerard, at Boyd who clung just as tightly to her but looked up to meet Stiles’ gaze and nodded, steel in his eyes, at Isaac who looked content to just listen to what the others were saying and at Derek who was listening to the information Peter had but squeezing Stiles’ hand tightly as if to tell him he was still there. This, this was his family now. He still had his dad of course, and he knew he would have him for a lot longer yet, but these people here, these were the family he had chosen for himself, it was broken in some ways, but it was still good, and he would do everything in his power to protect them, all of them, for the rest of their days.


End file.
